Shoeless in Cairo

I began this blog back in September of 2008 by posting an inspiring letter written by Jeff Halper of the Free Gaza Movement, which described his obsevations after his experence an Isreali jail. Now, I post again a letter from a Gaza Freedom activist, because the world cannot forget the plight of the Palestinians and the complicity of the world's most powerful forces to keep these people under a barbaric and siege.


Written by Mary Hughes-Thompson, part of the GFM (Gaza Freedom March) convoy that has been trying to
get into Gaza.

In about an hour the Gaza Freedom Marchers in Cairo will be meeting in Tahrir
Square to celebrate the beginning of 2010. January 1st will be the fifth day
of my hunger strike.

It was an eventful and exhilarating day for all of us here in Cairo. This
morning we began to arrive in small groups at a couple of locations in downtown
Cairo, intending to join and up and begin a solidarity march to Gaza. We
didn't expect to get far before being stopped, so we took what things we had
that would make it easier to spend the night in the street. As soon as we got
out of our taxi near the Museum, Hedy and I and Hedy's two friends from St
Louis were immediately surrounded by security police who tried to lead us away
from the area.

All around us we saw other small groups receiving the same reception. After
sitting on a bench in front of the Nile Hilton for half an hour, with half a
dozen police standing close and trying to persuade us to continue walking away,
we suddenly saw a surge of people crossing the street a few yards from us, and
we quickly rushed to join them. Free Gaza signs appeared, chants of "Free
Gaza" were heard. Passengers in cars and buses gave us a wave and a smile. We
were immediately encircled by several hundred policemen who placed barriers
around us and began to push us more tightly together. We tried to keep space
around Hedy, as we were pushed and squeezed. I feared my ribs would be
crushed as I was squeezed tighter and closer to people around me. A few people
fell or tried to sit in the middle of the circle and the police went after
them.

Suddenly I was pushed to the ground and fell flat on my face. As people around
me were pushed more tightly to the center, I feared I would be trampled.
Perhaps the police thought I had been sitting, because they grabbed my arms and
began to drag me along the ground. I felt my one shoe fall off, then the other
I tried to hang onto my things as some French people came to my rescue,
reaching out to help lift me to my feet, then leading me away next to the wall
and away from the police.

My shoes and my cane were swallowed up and could not be located amid the mass
of people. We stayed together for many hours, held tightly in our circle by
the police. It was very warm, but as always spirits were high, some enormous
signs were raised by young men who climbed the only tree we had in our
enclosure. It was a laurel tree, and many people raised branches above their
heads as we called for peace and freedom for Gaza. At the moment we knew the
march was taking place inside Gaza we chanted again: Free Gaza, Free Gaza.
Someone began to play an accordian, and I was pulled, shoeless, into a circle
of women, including Hedy, as we danced in a circle while people around us
cheered.

Eventually, after several hours, some members of American Veterans for Peace
who had been watching over Hedy persuaded her it would be safer if she left.
They felt the police were getting more threatening and were worried they
wouldn't be able to keep her safe if we were rushed and attacked. Hedy
reluctantly agreed to go outside the circle to talk to some press who wanted to
interview her, so Hedy, Sandra, J'Ann and I were, after some negotiations,
escorted outside where Hedy was greeted by reporters.

So here I stay in Cairo, grateful to be merely shoeless, somewhat bruised and
only slightly battered, still strong and determined, proud and humbled to be a
part of this amazing family that has come together from around the world to
stand in solidarity with Gaza, Palestine and to remember what happened in Gaza
a year ago. We may not get to Gaza this time, but we believe we have made a
joyful noise in Cairo.

Happy New Year everybody. Free Gaza. Free Palestine.

PS: One of my shoes was later found.

Visit http://www.freegaza.org/

"Security?" Really?

The following article is from www.freegaza.com

Gazan coast becoming a 'no-go' zone
16th February, 2009

On Saturday 14th February, 23 year-old Rafiq abu Reala was shot by Israeli naval forces whilst fishing in Gazan territorial waters, approximately two nautical miles out from the port of Gaza city. He was in a simple fishing vessel, not much larger than a rowing boat, with a small outboard engine, known locally as a 'hassaka'. Rafiq, his brother Rajab and another friend were following the course of a shoal of fish. A group of five more hassakas were out at the time, about a kilometre to the west of Rafiq's boat, further out to sea. An Israeli naval gunboat approached the area and began shooting at the other hassakas, which quickly changed course and headed east, back towards shore.

Suddenly Rafiq realised the gunboat was bearing down on their hassaka. As he recounted the events of that day, Rafiq likened the predatory nature of the naval vessel to that of a wolf. It circled their fishing boat and began shooting heavy ammunition in their direction. The three terrified fishermen threw themselves down flat in the bottom of their boat. The Israeli captain ordered them via megaphone to raise their nets and leave the area. At this point the gunboat was less then 20 metres from Rafiq's hassaka. The second time the gunboat came around no attempt was made to communicate with the fishermen. Rafiq was desperately pulling in the nets with his back facing the gunboat. An M-16 assault rifle was fired hitting him twice with explosive 'dum-dum' bullets, which peppered his back with shrapnel from the bullets themselves.

The force of the shots threw him in the water, plunging him down about six or seven metres below the surface. Rajab asked their friend to control the boat while he rescued Rafiq. Being a strong swimmer, he dived in after Rafiq and pulled him out of the water into the hassaka. However, Rafiq was unconscious by this time. The outboard was being slowed down by the weight of the nets so they headed towards another hassaka 300 metres away where they dumped the nets. The fishermen in this vessel had a mobile phone and made an emergency call. The stricken hassaka reached port at the same time as the ambulance arrived and Rafiq was taken to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city in a serious condition.

A couple of days later it was possible to visit Rafiq in hospital. He was weak and in a lot of pain, with some difficulty breathing, but was beginning to improve. His x-ray clearly indicated the presence of the bullet shrapnel between his shoulder and his spine. An enquiry regarding the possibility of surgery to remove the fragments was met with a solemn "no" from Rafiq's uncle, present at his bedside, who explained, "The pieces are too many, too small and too widespread. His whole back would have to be opened up." It is not only Rafiq's back which has the metal shards still embedded in it; the shrapnel also penetrated his lungs. They sustained pulmonary contusions, resulting in a haemothorax. The only treatment Rafiq can benefit from at this time is to have blood drained which is collecting in the pleural cavity in the upper left side of his chest. 1.5 litres of blood was initially drained off when he was first admitted but this amount later decreased and stabilised. Medication is limited to painkillers and antibiotics.

It could take Rafiq months to fully recover yet he has a family to support. He married just six months ago and his wife is now expecting their first baby. After five years of working as a fisherman, he has experienced Israeli naval forces firing warning shots on many occasions but this was the first time he has been directly targeted. However, Rajab survived being shot in the chest by the Israeli navy two and a half years ago. It is sobering to note that 14 Gazan fishermen have been killed by the Israeli navy since 2000. Rafiq described the level shooting on Saturday like an open war. Fishermen were attacked from Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza city, all the way to the north of Gaza. A number of hassakas were targeted that day, some vessels sustaining serious damage from the shooting.

Palestinian fishermen have come under daily assaults from Israeli gunboats since Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire which supposedly came into force on 18th January. Reports of heavy gunfire and even missile fire are now becoming the 'norm'. Rafiq is the third Gazan fisherman to be shot by the Israeli navy during this non-existant ceasefire. On 26th January, Alaa al-Habil was shot in the lower leg whilst trawling less than one nautical mile off the coast of Gaza. On 6th February, Mahmoud al-Nadar was shot in both legs whilst 1.5 nautical miles off the coast of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. Nowadays it is unthinkable for fishermen to venture beyond three nautical miles from the Gazan coast, with many vessels staying just metres from the beach. However, Gazan territorial waters reach 12 nautical miles offshore – indeed, the Oslo Accords grant a fishing zone extending as far as 20 nautical miles.

Israel is attempting to create arbitrary 'no-go' zones in the sea – enforced solely by the gun. They might succeed if it weren't for the resilience of the fishermen. All this is akin to what is happening on land. The Israeli Occupation Force has declared an area of Palestinian land a kilometre in from the Green Line a 'closed military zone', affecting an audacious land grab which threatens to swallow a vast swathe of rich agricultural land all the way along the eastern length of the Gaza strip.

International human rights observers are currently accompanying farmers determined to harvest their crops in one such area. In the months prior to Israel's war on Gaza, members of ISM Gaza Strip were accompanying Palestinian fishermen on a regular basis and witnessed countless acts of Israeli military aggression against them whilst in Gazan territorial waters, despite a six-month ceasefire agreement holding at the time.
The international community remains silent about these daily violations of international human rights law. One cannot help wondering what an outcry there would inevitably be if the tables were turned and an Israeli civilian received similar injuries. Such an incident would scupper current negotiations attempting to broker a more genuine long-term ceasefire. Yet whilst it is Palestinian civilians who suffer such atrocities, the world gazes on, indifferent.

Wir Sind Alle Deutschlander

We here in the United States have our new president, and the days of "No Drama Obama" are long gone, as he deals with all the Drama Queens in the congress to get a kid to stick his finger in the dike that is just barely holding back the economic mayhem to come. Meanwhile, not too many people are paying attention to the storm that is brewing in the Middle East over Israel's recent unconscionable actions in Gaza, and yet more Trouble with a capital "T" to come.

These upcoming elections have married the worst of militaristic nationalism with politics, and the combination is none other than explosive on a massive scale. The worst aspect of it all is the colossal cynicism. The horrendous attack on the citizens and basic infrastructure of Gaza just before the new U.S. president was to be sworn in, with his very swearing-in day as a deadline for withdrawal, in conjunction with the initiation of hostilities having occurred on the historic event that was election day in the United States, when Israeli troops went into Gaza and riled things up while the rest of the world had their eyes on our Big Day... it is an insult to the Humanity of every peace-loving person on the planet.

Chemical weapons; attacks on known U.N. safe havens, hospitals, and schools; ongoing attacks on farmers; illegal confiscations and detentions of humanitarian aid workers trying to come in by ship through open international waters - the list of atrocities committed in respect to Gaza goes on. And now, it appears that the whole exercise was simply the precursor for an Israeli attack on Iran, a laying down of groundwork, a psychological preparation for the citizens of Israel, a systems test run. For if the enraged Gazans do not stop lobbing what sad little rockets they still have over their imprisonment wall, their only weapons, sad in comparison to Israel's massive military might (only 13 Israelis were killed in the recent violence, compared to 1300 Gazans), well, then, Israel must attack their sad-little-rocket supplier.

Who will stop Israel from continuing down this path? No one has any weight to throw at them, except for the United States of America. Does our special peace envoy, or the State Department, or the Vice President, or even the President have the cojones to stand up to their militaristic momentum? Will any of them do what is necessary to convince Israel that it is they who must take the lead to end this cycle of violence, not any of their perceived or real adversaries? Will the newly elected leaders of Israel, after playing on the emotions of their citizens in the worst way humanly possible, for political gain, find any reason not to escalate the violence?

I am deeply deeply saddened that my paranoia that violence toward Iran would be used as a political play for power seems to be coming true, even as my amazement that the neocons in my own nation's government did not activate this kind of evil ploy before our elections, has been making me wonder if I have been too cynical, after all. But no, I had it right all along, except that it was Israel, the proxy of the United States in the Middle East, who took action, in the form of the horrible attack on Gaza as stepping stone toward Iran, instead of us.

In the name of all of the innocent people of Gaza, who have suffered long and hard under Israel's policies of treating them as other than human beings, I call on all citizens of the United States to at the very least pay attention to Israel in the days that follow, and if the rumblings of war with Iran or more violence toward Gaza prove to amplify instead of diminish, in a world where waves from this kind of mayham come around the globe and affect us in the form of military aid that will be sent to Israel removing funding from our government coffers for availability to help us through our own financial crisis, and the price of gas going up, and any number of other degrees of separation that link us to such world issues, but above all, as caring citizens of the world we live in, we must stand up and stop the madness! There is no excuse for allowing Israel to commit atrocities, or to get away with those that they have committed already in Gaza, and no excuse for remaining silent, like so many Germans did while the Nazi hate machine built itself up and became the monster that it did. Wir sind alle deutschlander.

For reports from inside Gaza and more information on Israel's prevention of aid to Gaza, go to http://www.freegaza.com/

PEOPLE OF ISRAEL – STOP THIS MADNESS!

STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN
Understand - You have become your own worst enemy.
STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN

STOP the killing and destruction of families.
LOOK at the people of Gaza - in the eyes,
see their pain and their suffering.
LISTEN to their stories, their needs, their desires -
actually listen to the words that come out of their own mouths,
about how they feel about having their lives destroyed
by your military,
by your nation's immoral blockade,
by the unacknowledged and unconscionable occupation,
by your government's propaganda against them,
and do not be surprised if they express anger.

STOP! Do not answer their anger with your own.
LOOK at Gaza,
look at the abject poverty there.
LISTEN some more
for what is behind their anger and frustration -
the deprivation,
the lack of basic human necessities,
the sadness.

STOP and take some deep breaths.
LOOK at your own nation,
your own government,
the propaganda of your own government,
the playing upon your historic victimization

by your own government,
the politics of the current situation

for the sake of government power,
the colonialism for the sake of politics.
LISTEN to your neighbors,
and the voices coming from different perspectives,

from others in the region,

from the international community.

STOP supporting state aggression.
LOOK at the reasons behind that aggression.
LISTEN to the voices coming from within the Jewish community,
voices that refuse to deal with the pain of aggression against Jews

by turning it on others.

STOP allowing your emotions of sadness and anger and fear

to consume you.
LOOK for ways to move beyond those emotions,
to express them in ways that are constructive,
that help you to grow,
to become better persons,
to move forward with your lives in peace.
LISTEN to your heart and its call for compassion and empathy.

STOP the violence.
STOP the siege.
STOP the misery and death in Gaza.

ISRAEL must stop, not Hamas.
ISRAEL must accept the responsibilities

of being the strong and powerful state that it is.
ISRAEL must stop playing the victim when it is not,

and stop exaggerating its victimhood when it is.

ISRAEL wants to be perceived as strong,
so be strong, from the inside out.
ISRAEL wants to be safe,
so make yourself safe

by working with your neighbors to achieve peace.
ISRAEL wants to impose its own narrative

on the history of the region,
but Israel is only a small country in that region,
a young country in a region with a long, long history,
a modern nation, with a modern military,

and strong alliances with the modern world powers.

ISRAEL must consider the historical narratives

of all of its neighbors in the region.
ISRAEL must accept the reality

that they have wronged the people of Palestine.
ISRAEL must apologize

for what has happened to the Palestinian people

because of their actions.
ISRAEL must find a way to live in the Middle East

that respects the other governments of the region

as legitimate governments,

as entities not to be ignored,

or punished,

at the cost of innocent people's lives,

but with which to negotiate peace.

Only then will Israel in turn gain the respect, the legitimacy,

and the security that it desires

The people of Israel cannot blame anyone but themselves,
cannot change anyone but themselves,
cannot expect anyone to react to them

in any way other than how they have,
until they prove themselves worthy of trust and respect.

PEOPLE OF ISRAEL -
Take the lead.
Do the right thing.
Show your strength and your leadership.
Begin with compassion.
Create the peace that everyone longs for.
Be the change.
Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Love thy neighbor.
Love thyself.

other posts on the Israeli-Gaza conflict:

http://julierbutler.blogspot.com/2008/09/letter-from-gaza-friends.html

http://julierbutler.blogspot.com/2008/12/blog-post.html

see also:

http://www.freegaza.org

http://www.othervoice.org/welcome-eng.htm

Yes, We Can! - Video for Free Gaza Movement

Here is a short video that I put together to honor the brave and inspiring participants of the Free Gaza Movement. December 10, 2008 will mark the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and what better way to celebrate than to congratulate the latest voyage of the SS Dignity in her breaking of the Siege of Gaza by Israel, bringing badly needed medical supplies, human rights activists, journalists who have been blocked from entering Gaza, and experts in education who have chosen to risk their lives in order to highlight the human rights abuses that are occurring in Gaza because of this siege. The Israeli government is preventing Palestinian students from being able to leave Gaza to get to the schools at which they have been accepted, many with honors and scholarships. This is an outrage! What better way to assure peace, security, and success for all than through education, so that doctors and teachers and engineers and many other skilled citizens can create positive changes in their communities. The cycle of violence must be broken, and peace can only begin when all human rights are respected - when we recognize that we are all one human family.
To learn more, go to freegaza.org
See also: http://julierbutler.blogspot.com/2008/09/letter-from-gaza-friends.html

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Q:Who is the most admired, honored, and respected human being that ever lived?

A:Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, is the most admired, honored, and respected human being that ever lived. Not only can his visage be found on all rupee currency notes circulating in India since 1996, but his birthday is celebrated every October 2 as an Indian national holiday. India is home to about 1.13 billion people, which is a whopping one sixth of the entire world's population. That's a lot of admirers! But wait, there's more. For Gandhi achieved his status as “The Father of the Nation” of India in such a remarkable way, that he has been an inspiration to all subsequent non-violent civil rights activists and advocates throughout the world. Martin Luther King Jr. was a student of his ideas, using them to bring about dignified change here in the United States, as was Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Anyone who advocates changing social wrongs through non-violent actions is greatly indebted to Mahatma Gandhi for showing the world how humble and gentle action can overcome violence, prejudice, and power, and all who admire, honor, and respect them also indirectly admire, honor, and respect Mahatma Gandhi. From artists such as John Lennon to advocates of environmentalism such as Al Gore, Gandhi's message is spoken of and passed around. The Dalai Lama, Lech Walesa of Poland, Cesar Chavez, the migrant workers advocate, Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma,, Benigno Aquino Jr. of the Philippines, Desmond Tutu of South Africa, and many many lesser known heroes have honored Mahatma Gandhi with their peaceful protests and by speaking truth to power.

The people of this nation have just elected the first black man to become the president of the United States of America. This man, Barack Hussein Obama, has inspired the entire world with his strength of character and his gentle dignity. In fact, he may qualify as the most admired, honored, and respected human being that is alive right now. But even he is only mirroring what Mahatma Gandhi did, and surely, Mr. Obama was inspired by him when he went to work as a community organizer, for that was exactly what Gandhi did. He was a lawyer and a community organizer, and he changed not only the way that India functioned, but the way that people go about initiating change, without resorting to armed insurrections or hatred, but instead by showing that humans can learn to respect each other, despite our differences. That is Obama's message, but it is not a new one. It is a message whose time has finally come. Everyone in the world today who admires, honors, and respects Barack Obama is also doing so toward Mahatma Gandhi. To highlight this connection, I include this moving quote by Ramzi Kysia of the Free Gaza Movement, which begins with a reference to Gandhi and ends with Obama's call to action:

GAZA CITY, FREE PALESTINE (29 October 2008) - This morning I walked to the Indian Ocean and made salt in defiance of the British Occupation of India. This morning I marched in Selma, I stood down tanks in Tiannamen Square, and I helped tear down the Berlin Wall. This morning I became a Freedom Rider.

The Freedom Riders of the 21st Century are sailing small boats into the Gaza Strip in open defiance of the Israeli Occupation and blockade. This morning I arrived in Gaza aboard the SS Dignity, part of a Free Gaza Movement delegation of twenty seven doctors, lawyers, teachers, and human rights activists from across the world, including Mairead Maguire - the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

When I close my eyes, I still hear the crash of ocean waves, I still feel the warm sun on my face, and I still taste salt from the sea spray. When I close my eyes, I can still see the Israeli warship that tried to intimidate us when we reached the twenty-mile line outside Gaza, and I can still see a thousand cheering people crowding around our ship when we refused to be intimidated and finally reached port in Gaza City. Today, the proudest boast in the free world is truly, "Nam, Nehnu Nastatyeh!" - "Yes, We Can!"

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adapted a resolution declaring October 2 to be “the International Day of Non-Violence.” I believe that this is an expression of the global yearning for violence and divisiveness to come to an end. The election of Barack Obama also signals this, because the symbol that this election sends is more than that our society is ready to accept a person of color as our leader. Obama's rise to the top of the Democratic ticket was in fact fueled by peace activists, because he was wise enough and strong enough to oppose the Iraq invasion from the very beginning. The world is ready for peace, and we can look to Mahatma Gandhi for inspiration again and again in our quest to bring about a more just and peaceful world. And by educating the younger generations, his influence can continue to grow in the world. In his words:

The science of war leads one to dictatorship, pure and simple. The science of non-violence alone can lead one to pure democracy...Power based on love is thousand times more effective and permanent than power derived from fear of punishment....It is a blasphemy to say non-violence can be practiced only by individuals and never by nations which are composed of individuals...

letter from Gaza Friends

End of an Odyssey

By Jeff Halper

Now, a few days after my release from jail in the wake of my trip to Gaza, I'm posting a few notes to sum things up.

First, the mission of the Free Gaza Movement to break the Israeli siege proved a success beyond all expectations. Our reaching Gaza and leaving has created a free and regular channel between Gaza and the outside world. It has done so because it has forced the Israeli government to make a clear policy declaration: that it is not occupying Gaza and therefore will not prevent the free movement of Palestinians in and out (at least by sea). (Israel's security concerns can easily be accommodated by instituting a technical system of checks similar to those of other ports.) Any attempt on the part of Israel to backtrack on this - by preventing ships in the future from entering or leaving Gaza with goods and passengers, including Palestinians - may be immediately interpreted as an assertion of control, and therefore of Occupation, opening Israel to accountability for war crimes before international law, something Israel tries to avoid at all costs. Gone is the obfuscation that has allowed Israel to maintain its control of the Occupied Territories without assuming any responsibility: from now on, Israel is either an Occupying Power accountable for its actions and policies, or Palestinians have every right to enjoy their human right of traveling freely in and out of their country. Israel can no longer have it both ways. Not only did our two little boats force the Israel military and government to give way, then, they also changed fundamentally the status of Israel's control of Gaza.

When we finally arrived in Gaza after a day and a half sail, the welcome we received from 40,000 joyous Gazans was overwhelming and moving. People sought me out in particular, eager it seemed to speak Hebrew with an Israeli after years of closure. The message I received by people of all factions during my three days there was the same: How do we ("we" in the sense of all of us living in their country, not just Palestinians or Israelis) get out of this mess? Where are WE going? The discourse was not even political: what is the solution; one-state, two-state, etc etc. It was just common sense and straightforward, based on the assumption that we will all continue living in the same country and this stupid conflict, with its walls and siege and violence, is bad for everybody. Don't Israelis see that? people would ask me.

(The answer, unfortunately, is "no." To be honest, we Israeli Jews are the problem. The Palestinians years ago accepted our existence in the country as a people and are willing to accept ANY solution -- two states, one state, no state, whatever. It is us who want exclusivity over the "Land of Israel" who cannot conceive of a single country, who cannot accept the national presence of Palestinians (we talk about "Arabs" in our country), and who have eliminated by our settlements even the possibility of the two-state solution in which we take 80% of the land. So it's sad, truly sad, that our "enemies" want peace and co-existence (and tell me that in HEBREW) and we don't. Yeah, we Israeli Jews want "peace," but in the meantime what we have -- almost no attacks, a feeling of security, a"disappeared" Palestinian people, a booming economy, tourism and ever-improving international status -- seems just fine. If "peace" means giving up settlements, land and control, why do it? What's wrong with the status quo? If it's not broken, don't fix it.)

When in Gaza I also managed to see old friends, especially Eyad al-Sarrajof the Gaza Community Mental Health Program and Raji Sourani, Director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, whom I visited in his office. I also received honorary Palestinian citizenship, including a passport,which was very meaningful to me as an Israeli Jew.

When I was in Gaza everyone in Israel -- including the media who interviewed me -- warned me to be careful, to watch out for my life. Aren't you scared? they asked. Well, the only time I felt genuine and palpable fear during the entire journey was when I got back to Israel. I went from Gaza through the Erez checkpoint because I wanted to make the point that the siege is not only by sea. On the Israeli side I was immediately arrested, charged with violating a military order prohibiting Israelis from being in Gaza and jailed at the Shikma prison in Ashkelon.

In my cell that night, someone recognized from the news. All night I was physically threatened by right-wing Israelis -- and I was sure I wouldn't make it till the morning. Ironically, there were three Palestinians in my cell who kind of protected me, so the danger was from Israelis, not Palestinians, in Gaza as well as in Israel. (One Palestinian from Hebron was in jail for being illegally in Israel; I was in jail for being illegally in Palestine.) As it stands, I'm out on bail. The state will probably press charges in the next few weeks, and I could be jailed for two or so months. I now am a Palestinian in every sense of the word: On Monday I received my Palestinian citizenship, on Tuesday I was already in an Israeli jail.

Though the operation was a complete success, the siege will only be genuinely broken if we keep up the movement in and out of Gaza. The boats are scheduled to return in 2-4 weeks and I am now working on getting a boat-load of Israelis.

My only frustration with what was undoubtedly a successful operation was with the fact that Israelis just don't get it - and don't want to get it. The implications of our being the strong party and the fact that the Palestinians are the ones truly seeking peace are too threatening to their hegemony and self-perceived innocence. What I encountered in perhaps a dozen interviews - and what I read about myself and our trip written by "journalists" who never even attempted to speak to me or the others - was a collective image of Gaza , the Palestinians and our interminable conflict which could only be described as fantasy. Rather than inquire about my experiences, motives or views, my interviewers, especially on the mainstream radio, spent their time forcing upon me their slogans and uniformed prejudices, as if giving me a space to explain myself deal[t] a death blow to their tightly-held conceptions.

Ben Dror Yemini of the popular Ma'ariv newspaper called us a "satanic cult." Another suggested that a prominent contributor to the Free Gaza Movement was a Palestinian-American who had been questioned by the FBI, as if that had to do with anything (the innuendo being we were supported, perhaps even manipulated or worse, by "terrorists"). Others were more explicit: Wasn't it true that we were giving Hamas a PR victory? Why was I siding with Palestinian fishermen-gun smugglers against my own country which sought only to protect its citizens? Some simply yelled at me, like an interviewer on Arutz 99. And when all else failed, my interlocutors could always fall back on good old cynicism: Peace is impossible. Jews and Arabs are different species. You can't trust "them." Or bald assertions: They just want to destroy us. Then there's the paternalism: Well, I guess it's good to have a few idealists like you around...

Nowhere in the many interviews was there a genuine curiosity about what I was doing or what life was like in Gaza. No one [was] interested in a different perspective, especially if it challenged their cherished slogans. No one going beyond the old, tired slogans. Plenty of reference, though, to terrorism, Qassam missiles and Palestinian[s] snubbing our valiant efforts to make peace; none whatsoever to occupation, house demolitions, siege, land expropriation or settlement expansion, not to mention the killing, imprisoning and impoverishment of their civilian population. As if we had nothing to do with the conflict, as if we were just living our normal, innocent lives and bad people decided to throw Qassam rockets. Above all, no sense of our responsibility, or any willingness to accept responsibility for the ongoing violence and conflict. Instead just a thoughtless, automatic appeal to an image of Gaza and "Arabs" (we don't generally use the term "Palestinians") that is diametrically opposed to what I've seen and experienced, a slavish repeating of mindless (and wrong) slogans which serve only to eliminate any possibility of truly grasping the situation. In short, a fantasy Gaza as perceived from within a bubble carefully constructed so as to deflect any uncomfortable reality.

The greatest insight this trip has given me is understanding why Israelis don't "get it:" a media comprised by people who should know better but who possess little critical ability and feel more comfortable inside a box created by self-serving politicians than in trying to do something far more creative: understanding what in the hell is going on here. Still, I formulated clearly my messages to my fellow Israelis, and that constitutes the main content of my interviews and talks:

(1) Despite what our political leaders say, there is a political solution to the conflict and there are partners for peace. If anything, we of the peace movement must not allow the powers-that-be to mystify the conflict, to present it as a "clash of civilizations." The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is political and as such it has a political solution;

(2) The Palestinians are not our enemies. In fact, I urge my fellow Israeli Jews to disassociate from the dead-end politics of our failed political leaders by declaring, in concert with Israeli and Palestinian peace-makers: We refuse to be enemies. And

(3) As the infinitely stronger party in the conflict and the only Occupying Power, we Israelis must accept responsibility for our failed and oppressive policies. Only we can end the conflict.

Let me end by expressing my appreciation to the organizers of this initiative - Paul Larudee and Greta Berlin from the US, Hilary Smith and Bella from the UK, Vaggelis Pissias, a Greek member of the team who provided crucial material and political input, and Jamal al-Khoudri, an independent member of the PLC from Gaza and head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege and others - plus the wonderful group of participants on the boats and the great communication team that stayed ashore. Special appreciation goes to ICAHD's own Angela Godfrey-Goldstein who played a crucial role in Cyprus and Jerusalem in getting the word out. Not to forget our hosts in Gaza (whose names are on the Free Gaza website) and the tens of thousands of Gazans who welcomed us and shared their lives with us. May our peoples finally find the peace and justice they deserve in our common land.

Jeff Halper is the Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). He sailed to Gaza on August 23rd aboard the SS FreeGaza. For more information on the ICAHD, please visit:http://www.icahd.org/.

For more information on the Free Gaza Movement, please visit: http://www.freegaza.org/.

Jeff can be reached at jeff@icahd.org.