Never mind that Israel allows large quantities of goods into Gaza and the Palestinians themselves smuggle even more in via tunnels from Egypt. But a bunch of anti-Israel activists decided to make some PR and “run” Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
Two wooden boats carrying dozens of human rights activists reached the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon after the Israeli navy decided not to hinder the challenge to Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave. Thousands of Palestinians turned out to welcome the group, which brought token humanitarian aid, including hearing aids and balloons.
The Post’s headline proclaims that the boats “broke” the blockade, but Israel let them pass unhindered.
(In some of the early publicity – it wasn’t news, it was unvarnished PR – it was noted that a Holocaust survivor was going to be on the boat. The Post’s PR release doesn’t mention her among the celebrities on the boat. Did she change her mind or was the Post just unaware of her presence.)
Meryl points out that since the ship of fools didn’t meet any resistance they charged that Israel jammed their instruments to prevent them from reaching Gaza.
However Backspin points out that the activists may not have such an easy time leaving Gaza as they did arriving.
And despite the crowds cheering their arrival, left unreported by many organizations was
once it turned out these boats contain too little food and mostly activists…some people left the beach disappointed.
(h/t Judeopundit – read the whole thing! )
Funny but there was a whole lot else going on in Gaza this weekend that somehow the Post’s Linda Gradstein failed to report:
Hamas stormed Al Azhar University in Gaza and the ensuing riots saw many injuries, including professors and a vice president of the university.
A teachers’ union in Gaza decided to go on strike to protest these sorts of attacks against teachers by Hamas. Hamas responded by abducting a Rafah school principal, one of the leaders of the union.
So a bunch of self promoting dweebs shilling for the Hamas government go sailing and that’s news. But when the government they’re supporting suppresses academic freedom that’s not news.
If the sailors wanted to do good, why couldn’t they go to the Sinai find some smuggling tunnels, stand in front of them and demand that the Palestinians not smuggle weapons into Gaza? Or at least insist that the Palestinians build tunnels that meet OSHA standards?
Crossposted on Yourish.
I had read that the alleged Holocaust survivor was an 83 year old woman who actually was able to flee Germany in 1939 – which does not make her a Holocaust survivor at all. In all probability she is an old time Marxist. The “activists” wanted a confrontation with Israel and Israel did not give them one. It probably was a smart thing for Israel to do although Olmert is such a despicable cowardly cockroach that anything he does is liable to be wrong.