On June 30, Israeli Occupation Forces captured the Free Gaza boat, Spirit of Humanity, with 21 human rights workers aboard, including Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Intriguing correspondance between the former chairperson of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Press Officer, Israeli Embassy, Dublin, illuminates the feelings behind the conflict.

::::::::

On June 30, Israeli Occupation Forces captured the Free Gaza boat, Spirit of Humanity, with 21 human rights workers aboard, including Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

Maguire is co-founder, with Betty Williams, of the Community of Peace People, an organization which attempts to encourage a peaceful resolution of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

McKinney, who is calling upon President Obama for help, was also the Green Party Presidential candidate.

The US news media, President Obama, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have so far been silent concerning the capture and subsequent incarceration in Israel of the 21 human rights workers.

IsraCast.com reports that George J. Mitchell Jr., special envoy to the Middle East, had a meeting in New York with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on July 1.

IsraCast.com said, "After a four-hour meeting ..., Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and U.S. Middle East (envoy) George Mitchell have reduced the gap over Israeli building in West Bank settlements."

But nothing in the fairly lengthy article mentioned whether the two discussed the Spirit of Humanity and her kidnapped passengers.

The key to discovering the path to peace in the Middle East may have much more to do with finding ways to allay fear than with building bigger and better weaponry, since it is people's raging fears that motivate them to bizarre and antisocial reactions. 
 
Might an army of psychologists fare better than the troops currently engaged there?

Certainly a battalion of Danaan Parrys, Founder of Earthstewards Network, might be able to offer creative solutions that war and aggression haven't unearthed.



The late Parry's work in conflict resolution around the world was a model of intentional peacemaking. He worked in Northern Ireland, bringing together Catholic and Protestant teens to plant trees and communicate. In 1983, he brought groups of Soviet citizens to the U.S.A. and American groups to the former Soviet Union to melt the fears and prejudices that have often divided the people of these countries.

In 1990, Earthstewards began the Israel-Palestine Compassionate Listening Project, which promotes Jewish-Israeli-Palestinian friendship.

The Compassionate Listening Project is based on a simple yet profound formula for the resolution of conflict: adversaries giving the gift of listening. They say that to help reconcile conflicting parties, we must have the ability to understand the suffering of all sides.



The following exchange of letters, between Dr. Raymond Deane, and Derek O'Flynn, Press Officer, Israeli Embassy, Dublin, illuminates some of the baffling aspects of Israel's stance. Deane was a founding member of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), was its Chairperson from 2002-2005, and is at present its Cultural Boycott Officer.

Would reading these dramatic and passionate exchanges, with compassionate listening, begin to encourage insights into creative solutions?

June 30, 2009

To the Ambassador of Israel -
Your country is once again disgracing itself. This time it has committed an act of piracy: the arrest on the high seas of a boat, appropriately named "The Spirit of Humanity" (a spirit that your state forever seeks, in vain, to crush), and the confiscation of its cargo of medicines and toys for the beleaguered people of Gaza.

There are two Irish citizens aboard this craft, as well as a former US presidential candidate. I hope that these facts will contribute towards bringing the infamy of your country's conduct more prominently to the attention of the people of the world, who have for too long turned a blind eye to Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

In the name of humanity, I demand that your criminal armed forces release the crew and passengers of the "Spirit of Humanity", and allow the boat to continue on its way to Gaza.

Yours faithfully -
Dr Raymond Deane



July 1, 2009

From Derek O'Flynn, Press Officer, Israeli Embassy, Dublin:

You are completely wrong:

1) since Hamas control Gaza and their stated intent since their Charter of 1988 is to destroy Israel and exterminate Jews, Israel cannot permit unrestricted access to Gaza for fear of arms being imported etc.

2) the restrictions on Gaza imports/exports are by Israel and also Egypt (which likewise doesn't want Hamas to be built up in arms and resources)

3) the Palestinian Authority also permits Israel to patrol the waters off Gaza. These are not international waters; they are internationally recognized as Israeli-patrolled waters.

4) 300,000 tons of humanitarian supplies have been facilitated by Israel alone since January alone into Gaza

5) if people wish to give aid to Gaza's people, they can easily do so through normal channels. Charging a boat into Israeli waters is simple attention-seeking, not about real aid, because they know they will be stopped and get their 15 minutes of fame (e.g. a boat in august 2008 was carrying 5,000 balloons!!!!).

6) on this occasion, laws were breached – the boat flew the Greek flag (illegally), told the Cypriot authorities they were going to Port Said Egypt (a lie – they knew they would not get a permit to go to Gaza), they changed their declared destination en route (violating international maritime law) and then violated the Israeli-patrolled waters off Gaza.


Get your facts straight and don't rely on the IPSC (Ireland Propaganda Solidarity Campaign.)


PS if you care so much for humanity, why don't you and your pals go to Iran and actively support the democratic activists there; or go to Saudi Arabia and demand equal rights for women and the right to build a church; or go to Syria and demand homosexual equality... but of course you won't because you wouldn't come back alive. It's so easy to bash Israel, a liberal democracy, the only one in the region, because you can get away with it.


Cheerio


Press Officer

Embassy of Israel

122 Pembroke Road

Ballsbridge

Dublin 4

Website: www.israel.ie




July 1, 2009

Mr O'Flynn -
You seek to counter my arguments by repeating the clichés of Israeli propaganda, but you're wasting your time.

Firstly, despite being democratically elected Hamas does not control Gaza, because Israel controls its airspace, borders, and marine access. Under international law Gaza is still occupied by the rogue Israeli state.

Secondly, the fact that the Egyptian dictatorship colludes with Israel's criminal policies out of fear of its own internal Islamic opposition is scarcely something to be proud of.

Thirdly, it's a joke to say "the Palestinian Authority also permits Israel to patrol the waters off Gaza". (a) The PA is a Quisling or Vichy regime - again, this is scarcely an alliance you should be proud of - and (b) the PA has no power to "permit" or "forbid" Israel from committing any crimes it chooses to commit. The phrase "internationally recognized [sic - interesting and appropriate that you use the American spelling] as Israeli-patrolled waters" is as meaningless as asserting "the coast of Somalia is internationally recognised as pirate-patrolled waters."

Fourthly, the 300,000 tons you refer to - even if this figure is correct, which is by no means certain, as Israeli propagandists pick figures out of the air - is utterly insufficient to deal with the humanitarian needs of the Gazans.

Fifthly, Israel and its dictatorial Egyptian ally block all "normal channels" of aid to the Gaza people. The "Spirit of Humanity" did not "charg[e] into Israeli waters" - it was not in Israeli waters. "Seeking attention", in this context, means alerting the world to Israel's crimes and Egyptian/EU/US complicity in those crimes and is an honourable procedure.

Sixthly, laws were indeed breached - by the Israeli pirates. There was nothing illegal about the boat's flying the Greek flag (and had this been the case, it would still not have justified Israel's piracy), and since the entire world - including the co-operative Cypriot authorities - knew of its plans to travel to Gaza for weeks prior to disembarkation, it is pathetic nonsense to claim that wool was being pulled over anyone's eyes. And, once again, the phrase "Israeli-patrolled waters off Gaza" means much the same as "pirate-patrolled waters off Somalia", except that at least those pirates are within their own waters.

Your final gambit constitutes the standard recourse to red herrings: the fact that Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia violate human rights doesn't in some mysterious way mitigate Israeli crimes, although it's interesting that you implicitly acknowledge that Israel belongs in such dubious company. Even if it were true that Israel is "a liberal democracy" - which it is not, because Israel is an Apartheid ethnocracy or racial state - this would in no way mitigate its crimes.

If this is the best you can do, Mr O'Flynn, I recommend you seek employment elsewhere - I'm sure Mr Mugabe needs a press officer.

Sincerely -
Dr Raymond Deane


Centuries of hereditary hatred in the Middle East have cast a ripple effect around the world.

Einstein said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Could compassionate listening to all sides be a step toward Middle East Peace?

RESOURCES

Live locator of Free Gaza ships: live updates from the journey of Free Gaza and Spirit of Humanity. A GPS signal is regularly sent to track the position of the boats. Accessed July 2, 2009.
http://www.freegaza.org/en/live

Barak-Mitchell Tackle Big Picture. Accessed July 2, 2009. click here

Call on Congress to Condemn Israel's Seizure of Humanitarian Aid Ship on Route to Gaza, Call for End to Siege. Accessed July 2, 2009.  http://www.opednews.com/populum/link.php?id=92797

Israel Attacks Justice Boat; Kidnaps Human Rights Workers; Confiscates Medicine, Toys, Olive Trees. Accessed July 2, 2009.  click here

Negotiator to Serve as a Mideast Envoy. Accessed July 2, 2009.
click here

Earthstewards http://www.earthstewards.org  Accessed July 2, 2009.

The Compassionate Listening Project, begun by Earthstewards in 1990, has been a separate non-profit organization since 1997. http://www.compassionatelistening.org

Authors Website: http://www.OceanViewArts.com

Authors Bio:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

Archived articles www.opednews.com/author/author1820.html
Older archived articles, from before May 2005 are here.