Shut In, Shut Down, Shut Up: Three Years after Mavi Marmara
By Greta Berlin
Three years ago, the Free Gaza movement was wrapping up final preparations for a flotilla of eight ships to head out to Gaza, determined to break Israel’s illegal siege on 1.5 million Palestinians shut into an open-air prison. Most of us were already in Cyprus or Turkey or Greece, as we were the primary organizers, having already sent eight voyages, five of them successful in 2008.
Why a flotilla of boats?
David Heap and Ehab Lotayef on Voice of Palestine
This week we talk with the two spokespersons for Gaza’s Ark here in Canada, David Heap and Ehab Lotayef, who update us on the project and what people here can do to help. We reached David in Italy where he is promoting the Ark project and then spoke with Ehab in Montreal.
Our final piece of music is by Lebanese singer Marcel Khalife, Walking Tall, and we dedicate it to the proud Gazan people who continue to walk tall and resist the Israeli occupation until they are able to live free and with dignity.
Download an audio file of today’s entire show to listen at home on your computer:
Report: Week 12 in Gaza
by Michael Coleman
17 May 2013
This has been a productive week for Gaza’s Ark, we were excited to announce that we have finally purchased the fishing vessel that we will now converted into Gaza’s Ark, plus we had our second release of Palestinian products that will be exported aboard the Ark. While on the personal front I spent a night on the water doing some accompaniment work with Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza and also spent some time in the Jabalia Refugee Camp.
Breaking: We have purchased Gaza’s Ark
On the 65th commemoration of the Nakba, the struggle continues:
We have purchased Gaza’s Ark
With your help, we will sail towards justice
When Palestinians and other people of conscience mark Nakba (Catastrophe) Day on May 15, they insist that the world acknowledge the history of Palestinian dispossession since 1948. As world leaders have ignored Palestinian dispossession in general, they have also ignored the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza under the Israeli blockade. Gaza's Ark is a people-to-people campaign to force the injustices faced by Palestinians in Gaza back onto the world's agenda.
We are excited to announce today that we have bought the boat that will become Gaza's Ark!
Israel won’t pursue criminal charges despite damning Gaza report
The army's comments follow reports by Israeli rights group B'Tselem that the army had failed to investigate cases of civilian deaths sufficiently, particularly those where it found the military may have been in violation of international law.
"Because the military refuses to provide real information about incidents in which Palestinians who did not take part in the hostilities were harmed, B’Tselem is unable to investigate the lawfulness of each and every military strike during the operation," a report issued Thursday by the rights group read.
Adel Baker, a fisherman from Gaza, now fighting for his life in hospital
13 May 2013, Gaza, Occupied Palestine
By Rosa Schiano
On May 1st many countries celebrate the achievement of workers on Labor Day weekend. In Gaza too, workers celebrated labour day in a demonstration in the centre of Gaza City. Yet, for the Palestinian fishermen there was nothing to celebrate.
Hospital report (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
In the early hours of Wednesday morning on May 1st 2013, a Palestinian fisherman was seriously injured when Israeli naval vessels off the coast of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats that were within 3 nautical miles of the Gaza coast.During the attack, a piece of the engine that is used to pull in the nets, smashed into the head of 51 year old Karim Adel Al Baker from Gaza City, leaving him seriously injured.
Updates to be announced here
All upcoming updates on our work on the Ark will be posted here.
Please come back!
Palestinians and Canadian natives join hands to protest colonization
Palestinians, both at home and abroad, have found an unlikely partner in the struggle against colonization: First Nations, the indigenous peoples of Canada.
by Hadani Ditmars – First published in Haaretz 29 January 2013
Native peoples from all over the world joined together on Monday as part of an international day of solidarity with Idle No More, an indigenous uprising that has supporters across the globe.
Idle No More began in Canada, but it has sparked support from peoples including North African Tuaregs and New Zealand Maoris.
And with the many messages of support that came on Monday from indigenous peoples across the globe were messages of solidarity from Palestinians – both in their historic homeland and flung throughout the diaspora.
Stephen Hawking confirms he is boycotting Israeli conference
World-renowned physicist confirms he is boycotting next month's Presidential Conference at urging of Palestinian activists and academics
by Yarden Skop, 8 May 2013
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has canceled his planned appearance at next month's Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, apparently in response to the urging of Palestinian activists and academics.
Hawking informed President Shimon Peres of his decision last weekend, but decided not to make it public. Thus it became public knowledge only yesterday, when it was reported on the website of the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine and picked up by the British daily The Guardian.
Silent Auction: Traditionally Embroidered Palestinian Dresses
Please contact: info@gazaark.org to place your bids specifying the number of the dress with minimum increments of $10.
Once a traditional craft practiced by village women, Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery has become an important symbol of Palestinian culture. Embroidered pieces can be found in the homes of most Palestinian families in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel and the Diaspora beyond, adorning the walls of houses in Jerusalem, villas in the Gulf, and cement block houses in refugee camps.
The popularity of embroidery springs from both its beauty and its association with the Palestine of the past. Common patterns reflect the millennia-long history of the foreign occupations and date as far back as the Canaanites, who lived in the area over three thousand years ago.
