Video from 6/4/10 March Against Gaza Blockade/Flotilla Assault from MN Capitol to the MN Trade Office
Photos from 6/4/10 Emergency March Against Gaza Blockade/Flotilla Assault from Capitol to MN Trade Office
(full report-back coming soon)
Video from delivery of 400 photos of Gazan children to MN Trade Office 2/09
Called by Direct Action to Stop War & Occupation (DASWO), endorsed by the Anti-War Committee (AWC), the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Twin Cities Chapter (IJAN-TC), the Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign (MNBBC), Opposition to War & Occupation (OWO), and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).
When: Friday, June 4th at 3:15pm
Where: Leaving from the State Capitol steps in Saint Paul and marching to the Minnesota Trade Office (32 Minnesota Street, St. Paul)
Early Monday morning, The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was raided by Israeli military commandos in international waters who fired live ammunition on the civilian passengers, killing at least 9 people and wounding scores more. The flotilla was a humanitarian aid convoy of 6 ships en route to the Gaza strip carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, construction materials. On board were more than 600 passengers from over 40 countries including activists, parliamentarians, journalists, and doctors. The flotilla’s stated purpose was to break the inhumane Israeli blockade of Gaza’s borders, which has deprived its population of more than 1.5 million of mobility and access to basic needs since 2007. While the violent raid of the Freedom Flotilla in international waters is itself a horrific assault on human life and a repressive act of state violence by Israel, it is but one expression of Israel’s ongoing apartheid program in Palestine.
On Tuesday, Minnesotans entered Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to demand a political response to both the killings on the flotilla and the inhumane blockade of Gaza. This Friday, we will go to the MN trade office to demand an end to local economic relations between Minnesota and the State of Israel as part of a larger project of relinquishing all US financial sponsorship of the Israeli war economy. The Minnesota Trade Office facilitates the relationship between Minnesota-based corporations and the State of Israel. In 2008, Minnesota companies made over $10 million on goods exported to Israel. The blockade of Gaza and the occupation of Palestine cannot be sustained without the military and financial support of the United States. This year alone the US will give a total of $2.8 billion to the state of Israel. The US also supports the occupation of Palestine through military aid in the form of technology, training, and weapons. In Minnesota, companies with Israeli contracts directly profit from the systematic violent assault on Palestinian life in the occupied territories.
Join us Friday to show that we will NOT tolerate the murder of activists and the undue persecution of Gazans. March on the Trade Office and demand NO MORE TRADE! TAKE DOWN THE BLOCKADE!
Media coverage of Tuesday’s action at Amy Klobuchar’s office here.
Media coverage of Tuesday’s protest in Duluth here.
Updates on the imprisoned flotilla activists and resistance to the blockade around the world here.
6/21/10:Protesters Prevent Unloading of Israeli Cargo Ship in Oakland
Hundreds of demonstrators, gathering at the Port of Oakland before dawn, prevented the unloading of an Israeli cargo ship. The demonstrators, demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, picketed at Berth 58, where a ship from Israel’s Zim shipping line is scheduled to dock later today. The day shift of longshoremen agreed not to cross the picket line…(read more)
6/4/10: Israeli navy intercepts Rachel Corrie Gaza aid ship
Israel has intercepted the latest aid ship attempting to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip, activists say. Israeli officials have not commented on the latest claims, but they had earlier warned they would not let the Irish-owned MV Rachel Corrie reach Gaza. The confrontation comes days after Israeli troops stormed a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, leaving nine people dead…(read more)
6/4/10: Autopsies reveal 9 men on Gaza aid boat shot, 5 in head
Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — Autopsy results by forensics experts in Istanbul revealed that all nine of the men killed by Israeli commandoes aboard the humanitarian convoy that had planned to dock in Gaza died of gunshot wounds.The autopsy results give clues about how the violence unfolded after Israeli commandoes stormed the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in the pre-dawn hours on Monday. Five of the men died with bullet wounds to the head, said Dr. Haluk Ince, the director of Istanbul’s Medical Examination Institute, said Friday.
One casualty, a 19-year-old dual national Turkish-American citizen named Furkan Dogan, was found to have bullet wounds in his head and multiple bullets in his body, Ince said…(read more)
6/4/10: Interview with Al Jazeera’s Jamal ElShayyal: One of the passengers on the Mavi Marmara
6/3/10: Sabotage on the High Seas
On Tuesday, Colonel Itzik Tourgeman told the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that two more ships are on their way to try and break the naval blockade of Gaza. The head of research in the operations division said, “The ships have not reached their target as of today because covert action was taken against them”…(read more)
6/3/10: Turkey Buries Its Gaza Flotilla Dead
Emotions are running high in Turkey at funerals for nine activists, all Turkish or of Turkish origin, killed in Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla. The bodies were flown from Israel to Istanbul, along with more than 450 activists, to a heroes’ welcome. Israel has said there is no need for an international inquiry into the incident, insisting its own will meet the “highest international standards”…(read more)
6/2/10: MV Rachel Corrie Continues En Route to Gaza
Yesterday’s Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in which up to 19 human rights activists were murdered in international waters has not deterred the Irish cargo ship the MV Rachel Corrie which is currently en route to Gaza and hopes to arrive this Saturday. Meanwhile the fall-out from the attack has pressured Egypt into opening the Rafah Crossing…(read more)
6/2/10: Gaza Flotilla Activists Resist Deportation Until All Are Released
At least 37 British citizens currently held by Israel are resisting attempts to deport them until all flotilla prisoners are released at the same time. Israeli spokespeople have said all foreign activists will be deported by the end of the day. However four Palestinian citizens of Israel among the activists have been remanded and face criminal charges. Free Gaza Movement activists say they will non-violently resist any attempts to deport them until all prisoners are released together…(read more)
