Many have asked me what I think of the Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza. I have not commented on this because I genuinely believe it is a waste of time, effort, energy, space, and focus. Approaching Gaza with a predetermined outcome, in which you know the Israeli navy is going to intercept you, and yet persisting with said useless and futile action tells me you are the most unserious player who is simply trying to gain attention and make a point, not to make a difference. Everybody knows that Israel has a blockade on Gaza, including a naval component; you are not raising awareness about anything that the entire world doesn’t already know.
You cannot access Gaza’s territorial waters during wartime without coordination with the more powerful and controlling party, which in this case is Israel. In fact, the maritime corridor between Cyprus and Gaza that was activated last year proved that the coastal enclave could be open for business if Israel’s legitimate security needs are met. This created a precedent that, after two decades of Israeli control of territorial water with coordination and trusted third parties, you could indeed make something happen in Gaza, even though that particular corridor is no longer in action.
If you truly wanted to make a difference, you might have considered using the port of Ashdod to deliver aid into Gaza or collaborating with Egypt and the UAE to land aid via El-Arish port and transport it via trucks to the Strip. The realities of war and realpolitik are not vanishing for a group of selfie activists who have no clue about how the real world works. I wish we would stop hearing about Greta Thunberg and Western activists trying to make this endeavor about themselves instead of making a difference and engaging in radical pragmatism. I wish we would stop wasting time and resources that could have been better spent on actually sending a larger quantity of aid into Gaza to support Palestinians.
I wish this time and energy were allocated toward the grunt work that I, along with many of my colleagues, do behind the scenes to conduct evacuations of patients and their families, as well as humanitarian cases from Gaza into Middle Eastern or Western countries. May this be the last selfie-flotilla that we have to discuss, and may these activists start actually helping the Palestinian people of Gaza instead of wasting time on self-centered and self-absorbed actions and interventions.
“they tried shooting at me. three shots. straight to the head. but it couldn’t get through. not even kennedy’s skull was that strong. imagine if they shot at joe’s head. they say it would have actually improved his ability to speak”
Many know about how in 1948 Palestinians rejected partition.
But did you know that in 1939, the British offered Arabs all of Palestine and they rejected it because it required getting along with Jews?
The Palestinian slogan was “The English to the sea and Jews to the grave.”
I just came back from Israel.
- People of different skin colors walk together.
- Israel is VERY diverse.
- Jews are very diverse.
- Jewish and Arab culture coexist.
- All signs and announcements are in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
- Most people have no problem with Arabs.
- Arabs identify as Israelis.
- Arabs are in politics, government, education, medicine, army, etc.
- Cultural festivals are regularly hosted. Cultures are celebrated.
- Israelis acknowledge and appreciate the influence of Arab culture in speech, music, cuisine, etc.
Stop talking nonsense for online engagements.