Medea Benjamin Nine passengers on the U.S. Boat to Gaza began an open-ended fast in front of the U.S. Embassy on the evening of July 3, calling on the U.S. government to pressure Greece to release our Captain and ship. We staked out a little area across the street from the Embassy entrance, decorating it [...]
Saturday, July 2, 2011
By Medea Benjamin After being detained at sea and forced to return, the US Boat to Gaza was guided by the Greek Coast Guard into a military compound just outside Athens. The press left the ship, but the passengers remained on board and spent the night in the boat. The Greek government has fully cooperated with the Israelis in impeding our movement. The only help we've received from the Greek government are two port-o-potties they put outside our boat, knowing that our toilets are not working when we're not at sea.[...]
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
By Medea Benjamin Today we had a great international press conference. There were representatives from Greece, Sweden, France, Norway, Canada, Spain, Turkey and of course, the U.S. The room was packed with press and passengers; there was really a feeling that we are part of something historic. Our US speakers were Ann Wright and Alice [...]
Monday, June 27, 2011
by Medea Benjamin Today we had a long meeting about whether or not we should do some visible protests against the Greek government for holding up our ship and if so, where we should do the actions. We even had a scouting team go out, which brought back all kinds of ideas. My favorite was the “choo-choo trail option” of renting a tourist trolley, and jazzing it up with our banners, lifejackets and other paraphernalia from the boat. But in the end, the folks in the international flotilla—especially the Greeks—recommended that we lay low for a few days to see if the complaint against our boat is lifted quickly[...]
Sunday, June 26, 2011
The 50 passengers and crew on the U.S. boat to Gaza have converged in Athens, Greece, ready to head out to sea to join an international fleet of ships that will challenge the Israeli-imposed naval blockade of Gaza. But on Thursday, June 23, when the boat was scheduled to leave its port outside Athens and move closer to an international meeting point, the boat’s owner was suddenly served with a complaint by an unknown individual that the boat was not seaworthy. The captain, convinced that the complaint was bogus, was nevertheless told by Greek authorities that he could not set sail until they did a thorough inspection[...]
Saturday, June 25, 2011
State Department Officials Have an Obligation to Speak Out Against Israeli Threats to Attack U.S. Boat to Gaza Athens, June 24, 2011 – U.S. peace activists preparing to set sail on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, expressed profound disappointment over a statement issued by the U.S. State Department on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Instead of calling on the Israeli government to let a flotilla of unarmed civilians sail to Gaza, the United States government is pressuring its own citizens to refrain from legal acts[...]
Monday, July 4, 2011
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