Activists hold protest on land
Photo: Activestills
Leftists' solidarity regatta beached
Boat owner hired to take floating leftist protest out to sea refuses to set sail when confronted with demonstrators wearing keffiyehs, waving Palestinian flags
Left-wing activists were left stranded on the shores of Herzliya Monday, after a floating protest against the siege on Gaza went awry due to one boat-owner's refusal to set sail. The captain was hired by the leftists to take them out to sea, but he declined to do so when they arrived wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags.
The leftists' boat was to set sail simultaneously with some Gazan fishermen's boats leaving from the Strip. "The boat owner and captain refused to set sail until the Palestinian flags were removed and the demonstrators took off their keffiyehs," Gush Shalom spokesman Adam Keller told Ynet.
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A vocal conflict erupted between the two sides and police were alerted on the claim that the activists were trespassing. "In the end we couldn't hold the solidarity regatta because we refused to take down the flags and the keffiyehs. Therefore we remained on the beach and held a protest in the marina, during which we spoke on the phone with the Palestinians sailing opposite the Gazan shore," Keller said.
Before the demonstration was called off, the boat was hung with a sign saying: "Gaza: Stop the siege, let the ceasefire set sail." Gadi Keini, of the Combatants for Peace organization, said that "there is general ignorance in the country about what is happening in Gaza and the damage we are doing is harming us.
Boat docking at Herzliya Marina. (Photo: Activestills)
"The insufferable situation in Gaza is harming us just as much as the Palestinians. We can render the siege on Gaza much more humane. We wanted to identify with the fishermen of Gaza who, because of the deterioration of the siege, are not allowed to come and go freely. There are a lot of peace activists in Gaza, and Israel, instead of encouraging them, is causing them to despair of the siege and prohibits them from coming and going. It's just absurd."
Keller said it had been his ambition to hold a common regatta between the two sides. "We don't expect to reach the area of Gaza because if we sail south, the navy will prevent us from doing so. Therefore we wanted to hold a parallel regatta, during which we could speak on the phone with our Palestinian friends in Gaza. We long for the end of siege and a joint meeting on land and sea," he said.
On the Palestinian side the demonstrators were able to set sail, led by human rights activist Iad Saraj. He was joined by Palestinian and international activists calling on Israel to remove the siege. "A ceasefire agreement putting an end to the insufferable siege would bring hope to both sides. We call on Israel to put an end to the continuous suffering," Saraj told Ynet.
