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
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. Yaí«l 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. Dalia Hager
38. Kadia Hajaj
39. Rosamine Hayeem
40. Shir Hever
41. Rachel Leah Jones
42. Yael Kahn
43. Liad Kantorowicz
44. Hagar Kotef
45. Ronit Lentin
46. Eytan Lerner
47. Yael Lerer
48. Tom Mehager
49. Susanne Moses
50. Naama Nagar
51. Ofer Neiman
52. David Nir
53. Norah Orlow
54. Alex Parushin
55. Shai Carmeli Pollak
56. Michal Pundak
57. Hili Razinsky
58. Deb Reich
59. Amit Ron
60. Yael Ronen
61. Eran Roseman
62. Albert Rosenblatt
63. Yehoshua Rosin
64. Michal Sapir
65. Ayala Shani
66. Adi Shechter
67. Ruth Sirton
68. Yasmeen Sivan
69. Inbar Tamari
70. Lea Tsemel
71. Michel Warschawski
72. Uri Weiss
73. Elian Weizman
74. Eleanor Wesley
75. Karen Zack
76. Uri Zackhem
This appeal is also joined by:
Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians
Bay Area Women in Black
http://www.bayareawomeninblack.org/
Simone Bitton, documentary filmmaker, France; Claudia Chaufan, San Francisco, CA, 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; Helga Mankovitz, Kingston, Canada; Jean Pauline, Oakland, CA, United States; Daniel Pines, Rochester, NY, United States; Larry Zweig, Germany
