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Last Friday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to put an end to an audaciously hopeful flotilla setting sail to the Gaza Strip this May.
Among the 15 boats that will sail to Gaza with people from over 22 countries is the American craft aptly named, The Audacity of Hope. Crew and supporters are calling for an end to the occupation of Gaza Palestine which has become more a siege on universal rights and a chronic dependency on humanitarian aid.
The Audacity of Hope could also be navigating in the same international waters off of Gaza where 44 years ago this June 6th the USS LIBERTY was attacked by Israel at the start of the Six Day War.
On 25 March 2011, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told the UN Chief that "the flotilla is being organized by extreme Islamists that are interested only in provocation"the ship's key goal is to fuel tensions, particularly in light of the fact that the Gaza Strip is open to all types of goods brought in via land""[1]
Because King read his Bible along with his newspaper, in this season of MLK reflections, I imagined that King could have had the following "conversation' with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and so, I have taken the LIBERTY to interweave the news of today with quotes from King's speeches:
MLK: Prime Minister, Bibi, baby, I have got to tell you that Israel's publicity campaign aimed at stopping the International Freedom Flotilla set to sail this spring is dead before arrival. Look who you are calling terrorists now:
Bibi, c'mon, these activists are also committed citizens of conscience and the Americans onboard The Audacity of Hope will strengthen the ties of civil society and human rights groups whose bottom line is justice for the coastal strip and that equates to nothing less than full freedom and universal rights.
Bibi' c'mon, you have 1.5 million Palestinians and 800,000 of them are under the age of 16, packed in Gaza. The Arab Revolutions are being driven by the youth of the region and they will not sit back down or be pushed around anymore.
"Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever and if repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history."
So what; you took down the Facebook page, Third Palestinian Intifada , which called for another uprising on May 15th and was "Liked' by more than 350,000 people before it was banned.
You cannot ban an idea and an idea whose time has come is more powerful than bullets and bombs.
So what; that the Israeli Defense Force has special units to "monitor' foreign nationals opposed to its policies, including the flotilla. The flotilla illuminates the collective punishment of the Israeli blockade and siege upon the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza are neither Hamas or Fatah; they are mothers, fathers, children all enduring under brutal conditions that are aided and abetted by USA foreign policy and American's tax dollars, and thus I cannot be silent in the face of another train wreck!
Let us recall that the First Intifada (1987 to 1993) began nonviolently but lead to a death toll of 2,162 Palestinians and 164 Israelis.
The Second Intifada (2000 to 2005) rang up a death toll of 5,513 Palestinians, 1,115 Israelis, and 64 foreigners.
The Third Palestinian Intifada called for 1 million supporters to unite after Friday prayers on May 15, 2011. So what; you banned them from Facebook. They all have cell phones and TWITTER and more powerful than bombs and bullets is a will wed to desire to be free and equal.
