Free Gaza Movement

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The Free Gaza Movement logo

Free Gaza Movement is an international, pro-Palestinian organization registered in Nicosia and supported by various aid organizations and political activists . Critics accuse her of collaborating with openly anti-Semitic and Islamist groups.

history

According to its own statements, the movement aims to break through the Israeli blockade of Gaza or to draw attention to it.

In 2007, the organization began preparations to break the exclusion zone established by Israel after Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip . Around $ 300,000 in donations was raised and two ships were chartered. The first voyage with these ships took place in August 2008.

Since then there have been a total of ten attempts to get to Gaza by sea - in August 2008, October 2008, December 2008 to January 2009, June 2009 and in May / June 2010 (see also Ship-to-Gaza incident ) -, five times (all in 2008) successful. A last attempt in July 2011 was thwarted in Greece.

The convoy in May 2010 , which was accompanied by three members of the Bundestag of the Die Linke party and the Swedish writer Henning Mankell , caused a particular stir . As previously announced by Israel several times, the fleet was boarded by the Israeli Navy in international waters on May 31, 2010 . Nine people were killed.

The movement accuses Israel of wanting to starve the Palestinian population there with the Gaza blockade. According to a report published in 2012, Israel has based its food deliveries to the Gaza Strip on a requirement of 9.5 MJ / d (= 2,279 kcal / d) per capita since 2008 . There is also locally produced food and, above all, food that is smuggled in from Egypt through tunnels. According to the World Food Organization (FAO), the threshold value for hunger is 7.5 MJ (= 1,800 kcal) per person per day.

supporter

The movement has more than 70 prominent supporters, including Desmond Tutu , Mairead Maguire, and Noam Chomsky . The participating organizations of the Free Gaza Movement include the International Solidarity Movement and the Islamist IHH . In Germany she is supported by the organization Pax Christi and the Association of International Doctors for the Prevention of Nuclear War . Participating activists include a. Jeff Halper , Hedy Epstein , Lauren Booth and members of various Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations.

criticism

The Free Gaza movement is often criticized for its connections to openly anti-Semitic and Islamist persons and groups who also take part in the high-profile actions. In 2010, for example, IHH , which supports Hamas , as well as authors of radical Islamist newspapers and functionaries of the right-wing extremist Turkish party BBP were on the passenger list of the " Mavi Marmara ".

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon , the United States , France , Britain , the Turkey and Canada protested publicly in 2011 against the planned expiry of the flotilla.

In 2012, the founder of the Free Gaza movement, Greta Berlin , found herself exposed to great criticism, occasionally from the ranks of anti-Zionist activists, as a result of an anti-Semitic tweet she published . The Jewish Voice for Peace organization, which had been associated with the Free Gaza movement and Berlin, then distanced itself from them. The American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg accused the organization of delegitimizing Israel and of being hypocritical because the Egyptian blockade of Gaza was not being protested.

Web links

Commons : Free Gaza movement  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Free Gaza Movement. In: FAZ.NET . June 1, 2010, accessed on June 25, 2010 : "The" Free Gaza Movement "declares its solidarity with the Palestinian people, but does not feel that it belongs to any political party."
  2. ↑ a b The Doubtful Passengers , taz, accessed on February 19, 2014
  3. ↑ a b Questionable Peace Mission , 3sat, accessed on February 19, 2014
  4. ↑ Our goal. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010 ; Retrieved June 21, 2010 : "We want to break the state of siege on Gaza."
  5. ↑ Israel to treat Gaza peace boats 'like pirates' . Telegraph. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  6. ↑ Activist boats reach Gaza Strip . BBC. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  7. ↑ Gaza activist boat docks , Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA)
  8. ^ Peace activist finally allowed to return to UK . Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  9. ↑ Gaza aid boat 'rammed by Israel' . BBC. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  10. ^ Israel Attacks Humanitarian Ship, Hijacks Crew . The Muslim Observer. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  11. ^ Six journalists detained after Israel boards Gaza boat . Press Gazette. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  12. ↑ Activists Held by Israel for Trying to Break Gaza Blockade . The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  13. ↑ International web presence
  14. ^ Attack on Gaza convoy . sueddeutsche.de. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  15. ↑ At least nine dead in Israeli military action . tagesschau.de. Archived from the original on June 1, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  16. ↑ Middle East conflict: EU hopes for easing the Gaza blockade (there info box The aid organization Free Gaza ) Spiegel-Online from June 14, 2010
  17. ↑ Israel uses 'calorie count' to limit Gaza food during blockade, critics claim Guardian of October 17, 2012
  18. ↑ Thomas Pany How many calories do people in the Gaza Strip need? , heise from October 18, 2014
  19. ↑ The FAO provides the data - the World Hunger Index is based on the figures from the World Food Organization Neues Deutschland from October 16, 2014
  20. ↑ see list on archive link ( Memento from June 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  21. ↑ Israel concerned leftists plan to send ship from Cyprus to break Gaza blockade . Haaretz. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  22. ↑ Group wants to test Israel's Gaza blockade . Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  23. ↑ Ethan Bronner: US Warns Americans Against Joining Gaza Aid Flotilla . In: The New York Times , June 16, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011. 
  24. ↑ Benjamin Weinthal: Free Gaza Group: Zionists Ran Concentration Camps . The Jerusalem Post. October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  25. ^ Flotilla Sponsor Tweets that Zionists Helped Perpetrate the Holocaust . JTA. October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  26. ^ A final word on Greta Berlin and the Free Gaza controversy
  27. ^ Jewish Voice for Peace Statement on Greta Berlin and Allegations of Anti-Semitism ( Memento from October 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  28. ↑ Nazi Propaganda Makes a Comeback on Twitter