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:

  1. Galit Altshuler

  2. Zohar Atai

  3. Xochilt Arizmendi

  4. Hanna Aviram

  5. Nitzan Aviv

  6. Ruth Ben Asher

  7. Lilach Ben-David

  8. Nora Bendersky

  9. Racheli Bar-Or

  10. Ronnie Barkan

  11. Yossi Bartal

  12. Ronnen Ben-Arie

  13. Ofra Ben Artzi

  14. Smadar Ben Natan

  15. Haim Bresheeth

  16. Guy Butavia

  17. Smadar Carmon

  18. Julia Chaitin

  19. Rachel Chayut

  20. Efrat Cohen

  21. Isadora Cohen

  22. Ron Cohen

  23. Yaël Dagan

  24. Yasmeen Daher

  25. Judit Druks

  26. Shiri Eisner

  27. Hamutal Erato

  28. Rona Even

  29. Debbie Eylon

  30. Pnina Feiler

  31. Arie Finkelstein

  32. Uri Fruchtmann

  33. Racheli Gai

  34. Rachel Giora

  35. Neta Golan

  36. Tsilli Goldenberg

  37. Vardit Goldner

  38. Dalia Hager

  39. Kadia Hajaj

  40. Rosamine Hayeem

  41. Shir Hever

  42. Rachel Leah Jones

  43. Yael Kahn

  44. Liad Kantorowicz

  45. Mira Khazzam

  46. Hagar Kotef

  47. Ronit Lentin

  48. Eytan Lerner

  49. Yael Lerer

  50. Tom Mehager

  51. Susanne Moses

  52. Naama Nagar

  53. Ofer Neiman

  54. David Nir

  55. Norah Orlow

  56. Alex Parushin

  57. Yaar Peretz

  58. Shai Carmeli Pollak

  59. Michal Pundak

  60. Hili Razinsky

  61. Deb Reich

  62. Amit Ron

  63. Yael Ronen

  64. Eran Roseman

  65. Albert Rosenblatt

  66. Yehoshua Rosin

  67. Michal Sapir

  68. Ayala Shani

  69. Tal Shapira

  70. Yonatan Shapira

  71. Adi Shechter

  72. Ruth Sirton

  73. Yasmeen Sivan

  74. Inbar Tamari

  75. Lea Tsemel

  76. Michel Warschawski

  77. Uri Weiss

  78. Elian Weizman

  79. Eleanor Wesley

  80. Karen Zack

  81. 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