Flotilla and More Problems

The Saoirse, an Irish ship, has had its  engine damaged while in port in Turkey waiting to join the flotilla.  Of course Israel has been blamed.  This is the second ship to face problems. 

Jordanians and other international people have joined together to buy a ship for $800,000 to join the flotilla. 

In the meantime Greece is experiencing strikes at their ports. 

Resource:  http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=227243&R=R1
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145302

Flotilla Delayed and Dwindling

Nadene Goldfoot
Our prayers haven't hurt that the flotilla would disappear and not bring havoc to Israel.  I for one will keep it up. 

The Flotilla 2 has had its problems.  Originally planned with1,500 people participating, it's now down to 350.  Ten ships are still trying to get their act together in Greece.  Two ships from France have already sailed towards Gaza but the rest hope to set out by next week.

First, there have been insurance problems.  That's not finished.  Greece has presented them with lots of red tape to deal with.  The combined Swedish/Greek ship, Juliano's propeller shaft was cut and the passengers are blaming Israel for that.  With ten ships coming, I doubt if it was that important to disable just one of them. 

That leads to the news from good sources that the passengers on one or more ships were planning to dump bags of sulphur on the young IDF soldiers when they boarded the ships.  That is a chemical and highly explosive if a match was struck.  It's beyond horror.  Passengers of course are now denying it. 

Ships in the flotilla are already in Greece and represent Ireland, the Audacity of Hope from the USA, Canada, Sweden, Greece, with two Swedish/ Greek cargo ships carrying 3,000 tons of unneeded supplies, Italy and France.  One of the spokesmen is Ewa Jasilwicz of Poland, so there may be others from countries not mentioned.  All countries involved have been apprised of the IDF plans and why.  The UN has already come out advising against the flotilla  in that it is against the law and needless.  The reasoning is obvious to all of us; the instigators and participants are eager to cause a provocation to Israel if not the death of the soldiers. 

If amongst that 3,000 tons of supplies or any package meant to go into Gaza our IDF finds one missile, rocket or mortar or even handgun, the passengers are going to be in mighty big trouble.  They'd better all hope and pray that none of them has tried to do such a thing.  Aiding and abetting an enemy is a serious charge. 

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?ID=227011&R=R1

My Favorite Heroine in Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Brigette Gabriel is my heroine.  She is a Christian Lebanese woman who was a young girl in 1982, when Israel went into Lebanon.  I was there, having moved to Safed in 1981 after making aliyah in 1980.  Brigette explains fully what life was like for her in Lebanon prior to 1982, telling things I knew nothing about. 

What I knew was that Major Hadad of the Christian Lebanese Militia was guarding our border and that he and probably his soldiers came into Israel for R&R to our hospital.  I was so thankful at the time that there was a group in the Middle East who was supportive of Israel and we were working together.  I had no idea of the horror the Christians were going through prior to Sharon allowing his men to go into  the Palestinian camps there and do what they felt they had to do.  Sharon was in big trouble after that.  Maybe he of all people knew what they had been enduring.  Brigette was suffering terribly at that time.

She emphasises in her video below, that there are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world.  Only a minority are radical Islamists.  However, that minority makes up 15-25% of all Muslims which amounts to 180 to 300 million radicals.  That's a lot compared to the 6 million Israelis, of which 5 million are Jewish and over 1 million are Muslims. 

Lebanon was a jewel of a country in the Middle East.  It was made up of Christians and Muslims.  It didn't work.  Christians were slaughtered.  At a time now that Israel is again having to prove her right to her existence to the world and to keep the little bit of land which amounts to only half of what she had been promised and what she had to lose lives over, listening to Gabriel's words are most important.  If only all those who are boycotting Israel and her products and want to break into Gaza on ships on the upcoming flotilla would hear her out, maybe some facts would be understood. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fnTHyyvzWg&feature=share 

Americans Join Flotilla Against Israel While Middle East Is In Smoke

Nadene Goldfoot
The population of Gaza is about 1.5 to 1.7 million Arabs of which the Hamas terrorists were voted as their leaders.  Their charter is to destroy Israel and never to make peace with them.  They have been engaged in a war of destruction with Israel  They bomb the Jewish country with rockets, missiles and mortars along with all the negative propaganda they can create.  Hamas is backed and armed with weapons from Iran, who also want to destroy Israel.  Besides being a democratic state, the only one in the Middle East, Israel happens to be a Jewish state, one amid the Islamic nations   This is the sole reason that these states are so against Israel.  Jews had the audacity to accept  their land in 1948 from England when the Arabs refused their share and the Israelis have made something out of it.  The Jews have prospered in their teeny land and have created thousands of things, medical discoveries as well as businesses.    For this Jews have not been forgiven. 

Israel has had to have a naval blockade on Gaza because of Hamas's need to procure weapons from Iran and whoever else will supply them.  Gaza has all the necessities it needs.  It is Israel who has taken on the responsibility of trucking them into Gaza. There are at least 300 trucks that carry supplies into Gaza daily from Israel.   Even the UN has told people not to break the blockade and that it is not necessary (unless of course their goal is to sneak in weapons).  Hamas refuses to make peace with Israel.  This is a state of war of their own choosing. 

However, not to heed advice, 36 Americans are still planning on boarding their ship, Audacity of Hope,  and break the blockade.  They will fly later to Athens to get ready for the short journey from there.  Their reasoning is that they say they see this as a human rights violation.   Professor Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian-American critic of Israel from Columbia U is a major organizer of this ship.  Last I heard was the group was trying to raise $370,000 to get the ship. 

I feel they are doing this, not for the sake of bringing anything of value to Gaza, but for the publicity that they hope to cause against  Israel.   If anyone is a violator of human rights, it is Hamas who continually fire on Israel hitting Sderot and Ashkelon and the country-side and stir their people to kill Israelis, like the Fogel family recently slaughtered in Itamar, Samaria. 

They concentrate on Israel while the Syrian troops are going into their rebel's villages near the Turkish border setting fire to their homes and a bakery.  They have cut off the lifeline to thousands of these uprooted people that are stranded out in the open arresting masses of people.  Turkey has taken pity on them at least and are bringing food to them even though they are on the Syrian side of the border.  Atrocities of all sorts are going on in the Middle East, yet our Americans can only see fault with Israel and with the people who brought to the world the 10 Commandments. 

update: 6/27/11 On Sunday, however, Greek officials blocked some of the ships from setting sail to Gaza. Organizers said that they had retained lawyers to will fight the stop-order with the aim of allowing the vessels to leave harbor on schedule.

Vessels from Italy, Spain and Canada are also participating in the flotilla.
(If they try to breat the blockade, they will be arrested by Israel.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110619/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_protests_glance
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110620/ap_on_re_us/us_gaza_flotilla
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2011/06/flotilla-future-member-audacity-of-hope.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashid_Khalidi
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4057894,00.html
http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/2011/03/2402.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/world/middleeast/17flotilla.html?_r=1
http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/06/26/the-idfs-lawfully-enforced-naval-blockade-on-the-gaza-strip/
http://www.aish.com/jw/me/The_Hamas_Flotilla.html by David Harris; excellent
http://www.giyus.org/ 6/27/11
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?ID=226829&R=R1

Flotilla Future Member: Audacity of Hope

Nadene Goldfoot
Professor Rashid Khalidi from Columbia U., Obama's former friend from Chicago and Hamas sympathizer as called by Senator John McCain, belongs to the group, US Boat to Gaza.  They are trying to raise $370,000 to get the ship, Audacity of Hope,  to join the flotilla that intends to break the blockade into Gaza against Israel.

Khalidi is an outspoken critic of Israel.  This boat would hold 40-60 people.  He and the group are calling Israel an illegal occupier of Palestine.  Though this director of Middle East Institute at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs does not plan to sail with the ship, he is doing his part in soliciting the money needed.  I can see that he must also supply his educational work with his biased outlook on Israel as well.  Actions speak louder than words.  I see that Obama failed in influencing Khalidi with a different outlook about Israel. 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ by Gavriel Queenann, Arutz Sheva 
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/144733
http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?ID=227211&R=R1 

Former Ambassador Edward Peck was just interviewed by Greta on Fox News. He was Ambassador from 1956 to 1989 in the Middle East but not in Israel. He was on a Greek ship that was part of the Gaza flotilla. Greta was fantastic with her questions of him.


Peck has been highly critical of U.S. policy toward Israel, arguing through the Council for the National Interest (CNI) in which he plays an active role, that the U.S. should be more even handed in its Middle East policy. He argues that while Hezbollah could be considered a terrorist organization, it is no more terrorist than Israel or the U.S. itself. He supports a dialogue with Hezbollah. He claims that in 2000, at the Camp David talks, Israel offered the Palestinians "12 little Bantustans [see December 22 interview link below]." (Wikipedia).

Now I see why he joined this flotilla. To me his answers showed an amazing naivety towards his behavior on this ship and his part in the breaking of the barricade. As a former ambassador he should know better.