Action Alerts

Gaza and MV Rachel Corrie Need Your Backing Now!

June 4, 2010

We are Israeli citizens and residents, Palestinians and Jews. We work in our society to raise the voices of conscience and dissent in light of the hostility, self-righteousness and racism which dominate it, but these efforts are not sufficient. In the wake of our government's deadly attack on the Free Gaza aid ships, including the MV Marmara, and due to the continued cruel and illegitimate Israeli siege on the Gaza strip - we call on the world's governments and civil society organizations to take concrete and immediate steps in pressuring Israel to refrain from interfering with the ship MV Rachel Corrie, currently on route to Gaza, or any future vessel, sailing from international waters to the waters of the besieged Gaza strip.

The international community's tragic failure in ending Israel's impunity - especially after the massacre of more than 1400 Palestinians in Gaza over a year ago - is the key enabler of the latest crime performed by the Israeli government and military leaders, killing at least 9 people and wounding dozens. Only if its support, funding and international ties are put in jeopardy, will Israel reconsider its policy of violence and collective punishment against the Palestinian civilians and their many supporters from abroad.

MV Rachel Corrie is carrying cement, a material banned by Israel which is indispensable for the reconstruction of Gaza after much of its buildings have been destroyed during Israel's latest assault on Gaza. MV Rachel Corrie's name was chosen to commemorate the life of the international activist who was squashed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in Gaza, on March 16th, 2003. Corrie was non-violently attempting to prevent the Israeli army from demolishing the home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah.

In memory of the dead and for the sake of the living - now is the time to set free 1.5 million prisoners in the open-air prison set by Israel, prisoners whose sole “crime” is being Palestinian in the Gaza strip. It would only be fitting that MV Rachel Corrie's accomplished journey would serve both to commemorate the lives lost on the MV Marmara as well as to carry out the mission of breaking the siege on Gaza.

With justice and peace,

Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within

http://boycottisrael.info/

and the following individuals:

Galit Altshuler
Zohar Atai
Xochilt Arizmendi
Hanna Aviram
Nitzan Aviv
Ruth Ben Asher
Lilach Ben-David
Nora Bendersky
Racheli Bar-Or
Ronnie Barkan
Yossi Bartal
Ronnen Ben-Arie
Ofra Ben Artzi
Smadar Ben Natan
Haim Bresheeth
Guy Butavia
Smadar Carmon
Julia Chaitin
Rachel Chayut
Efrat Cohen
Isadora Cohen
Ron Cohen
Yaël Dagan
Yasmeen Daher
Judit Druks
Shiri Eisner
Hamutal Erato
Rona Even
Debbie Eylon
Pnina Feiler
Arie Finkelstein
Uri Fruchtmann
Racheli Gai
Rachel Giora
Neta Golan
Tsilli Goldenberg
Vardit Goldner
Dalia Hager
Kadia Hajaj
Rosamine Hayeem
Shir Hever
Rachel Leah Jones
Yael Kahn
Liad Kantorowicz
Mira Khazzam
Hagar Kotef
Ronit Lentin
Eytan Lerner
Yael Lerer
Tom Mehager
Susanne Moses
Naama Nagar
Ofer Neiman
David Nir
Norah Orlow
Alex Parushin
Yaar Peretz
Shai Carmeli Pollak
Michal Pundak
Hili Razinsky
Deb Reich
Amit Ron
Yael Ronen
Eran Roseman
Albert Rosenblatt
Yehoshua Rosin
Michal Sapir
Ayala Shani
Tal Shapira
Yonatan Shapira
Adi Shechter
Ruth Sirton
Yasmeen Sivan
Inbar Tamari
Lea Tsemel
Michel Warschawski
Uri Weiss
Elian Weizman
Eleanor Wesley
Karen Zack
Uri Zackhem

This appeal is also joined by:

Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians

Bay Area Women in Black

http://www.bayareawomeninblack.org/

Venturans for a Just Palestine
http://ventura4ajustpalestine.blogspot.com/

Simone Bitton, documentary filmmaker, France; Claudia Chaufan, San Francisco, CA, United States; Ibrahim El-Hussari, Washington, DC, United States; Jane Harries, Women to Women for Peace, United Kingdom; Judy Karas, Monterey, CA, United States; Emma Klein, Seattle, WA, United States; Sallie Latch, Mexico; Angelika Maeser Lemieux; Helga Mankovitz, Kingston, Canada; Jean Pauline, Oakland, CA, United States; Cindy Piester; Daniel Pines, Rochester, NY, United States; Larry Zweig, Germany