who will protect the Rachel Corrie?

As I write the Rachel Corrie, a 1200-ton cargo ship, delayed due to mechanical problems, is steaming towards Gaza. As I understand it they will pick up one or two of the ships that the IDF sabotaged en route. The passengers–a list of them is available here, and they include a number of extremely powerful Malaysian politicians–decided to continue on to Gaza. Amazing. Other reports suggest that the organizers may delay the ships’ arrival into Gaza until the beginning of next week. Or the ships’ attempt to arrive. Matan Vilnai, the Nazi who called for a Shoah to befall Gaza (hashoah is Hebrew for the Holocaust; shoah is just destruction), said on public radio that “We will not let any ships reach Gaza and supply what has become a terrorist base threatening the heart of Israel.” Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has promised to escort the next maritime convoys with Turkish warships. Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has demanded that the Israelis let the Rachel Corrie in. This set-piece battle is not over yet. And the role we on the outside will play–most importantly, in publicly mobilizing, secondarily, in disseminating information, and thirdly, creating a climate of opinion in which Israeli politicians and generals decide that it’s better to let the ship in that not let it in–is not over yet either. Israel has lost this battle, and we’ve won it. But we won the first half on their terms. Let’s win the second half on ours. An anonymous Israeli marine lieutenant told Israel’s army radio that his unit was prepared to block the Rachel Corrie. “We as a unit are studying, and we will carry out professional investigations to reach conclusions,” the lieutenant said, referring to yesterday’s massacre. “And we will also be ready for the Rachel Corrie ,”

from jewbonic