Background on Flotilla Incident

JERNY ^

[Eleutheria5]

From: JERNY Subject: Background on Flotilla Incident To: moshekosha@yahoo.com Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 7:58 AM

An Educational Service of

Jewish Educational Resources of New York

www.JERNY.org

JERNY Request: The IDF (Israeli Defense Force or Israeli Army) has a video on U Tube explaining what's going on but U Tube wants to remove it by using the excuse as not too many people are logging in. Please forward this email, so many people will log in and the IDF will be able to have its voice heard. Thanks

http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk

Compiled by UJC (United Jewish Communities), parent organization of the Jewish Federation of Northeast New York BACKGROUND ON FLOTILLA INCIDENT As many of you may be aware, a major confrontation took place off Israel's coast earlier today. We wanted to bring you the most up-to-date information from JFNA's Israel office, for your background. We have summarized the major points below. This is followed by additional facts and links to other important materials on this incident.

* Early this morning (May 31), Israel Defense Forces naval forces intercepted six ships attempting to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. * The intercept took place after numerous warnings from Israel and the Israel Navy that were issued prior to the action. The Israel Navy requested the ships to redirect toward Ashdod, where they would be able to unload their cargo which would then be transferred to Gaza over land after undergoing security inspections. The IDF stressed that the passengers could then return to their point of departure on the same vessels. * During the interception of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF naval personnel with live gunfire as well as light weaponry including knives, crowbars and clubs. The demonstrators had clearly prepared weapons in advance for this specific purpose. * According to reports from sea, on board the flotilla that was seeking to break the maritime closure on the Gaza Strip, IDF forces apprehended two violent activists holding pistols. These militants apparently grabbed the pistols from IDF forces and opened fire on the soldiers. * The activists were carrying 10,000 tons of reported aid to Gaza. Israel provides 15,000 tons of aid weekly to Gaza. * As a result of this life-threatening activity, naval forces employed riot dispersal means, including, when they determined that their lives were in immediate danger, live fire. According to initial reports, these events resulted in over 10 deaths among the demonstrators and numerous injured. * A number of Israeli naval personnel were injured, some from gunfire and others from knives and crowbars. Two of the soldiers are moderately wounded and the remainder sustained light injuries. * All of the injured, Israelis and foreigners, are currently being evacuated by a fleet of IDF helicopters to hospitals in Israel. * Reports from IDF forces on the scene are that some of the participants onboard the ships had planned a lynch-mob attack, using lethal force on the boarding forces. * The events are still unfolding. Israeli Naval commander, Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom is overseeing the activities. * In the coming hours, the ships will be directed to the Ashdod port, while IDF naval forces will perform security checks in order to identify the people on board the ships and their equipment. * The IDF naval operation was carried out under orders from the political leadership to halt the flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip and breaching the naval blockade.

Other important facts:

* The provocateurs were organized by an Islamist organization that has links to fundamentalist jihadi groups. * The extremists brought small children on board knowing that they intended to violate international maritime law. * The activists were carrying 10,000 tons of what they said was aid. Israel transfers about 15,000 tons of supplies and humanitarian aid every week to the people of Gaza. * "We fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation or threats of violence against us, they are going to have to forcefully stop us," said one of the flotilla’s organizers. * Using the Arabic term ‘intifada,’ Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said "We call on all Arabs and Muslims to rise up in front of Zionist embassies across the whole world. * Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this week: "If the ships reach Gaza it is a victory; if they are intercepted, it will be a victory too. * Israel left Gaza in hopes of peace in 2005 and in return received more than 10,000 rockets and terrorist attacks. * Israel has said that it will deliver any humanitarian aid to Gaza, as it does daily. * No country would allow illegal entry of any vessel into their waters without a security check. * Earlier this week, Noam Shalit, father of Hamas-held Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, approached the flotilla's organizers asking them to take supplies to Gilad. He was refused .

Here are additional resources for further background on this issue:

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon's press conference on the flotilla incident:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137785

Israel Goes on High Alert in the Wake of Flotilla Incident:

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=28979

IDF Met with Pre-Planned Violence When Boarding Ship:

http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/05/3101.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU12KW-XyZE&playnext_from=TL&videos=KoyKrtEKHmY&feature=sub

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon’s Statement: Activists Had Weapons:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3896588,00.html

Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement about the humanitarian situation in Gaza:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wlWcNXzstI

MFA legal expert Sarah Weiss Maudi explains why the flotilla was not allowed to dock at Gaza:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2W457Ot6qw&feature=channel

Legal Backgrounder on maritime law and other related issues, from MFA:

http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=221580

A fascinating Al-Jazeera report on the flotilla before they left that offers insight into who was on board. One says: "We are now waiting for one of two good things -- either to achieve martyrdom or to reach Gaza:"

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2489.htm

Video of a "peace activist" stabbing an Israeli soldier as he boards the boat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buzOWKxN2co http://lyris.ujcfedweb.org/t/5782020/32747279/26712/0/

[Eleutheria5]

I received this e-mail from a trusted friend.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

“ants to remove it by using the excuse as not too many people are logging in.”

?

[happinesswithoutpeace]

“wants”

[at bay]

Hamas was hellbent on provoking an incident. They suceeded. My heart goes out to every wounded Israeli soldier who had to do battle with these vermin troublemakers.

[blueyon]

THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE THIS!!!!

[Eleutheria5]

Should be “YouTube wants to remove...”

[happinesswithoutpeace]

Yes I don’t understand the “as not too many people are logging in” part.

[hennie pennie]

YouTube allegedly attempting to remove an IDF video????

[Nachum]

I have not heard. Too late now anyway, I think. Everybody has seen it.

[MestaMachine]

You Tube put up a warning right when it was posted that said it contained “violent content” and said you had to be eighteen or older to view it. Then they stated the only way to view it was to either log in to your account OR sign up for an account. We found alternate sources and posted ALL of them:
Here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2524690/posts

And more starting here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2505266/posts?page=480#480
THIS is almost a minute by minute account plus ALL the videos including what happened before the raid.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

Oh it was flagged. Thanks : )

[MestaMachine]

Yes, it was. Immediately. It was posted on the IDF YouTube site. As soon as we saw that, we went looking for alternatives sites. That is why the YouTube thing hasn’t gotten very many hits.

[Eleutheria5]

Thanks all. It seems we must regularly find and rescue videos of this sort before You Tube finds a pretext to delete them.

[Eleutheria5]

You wouldn’t by any chance know where I could get footage of the Ramalleh lynching of 2005? It’s gone.

[MestaMachine]

I do not have video, but I have ALL the pics. Do you want me to post them? They are horrible.

[MestaMachine]

I documented the intifada extensively from Day One when Sharon visited the Temple Mount. Thousands of images that were so bad I could not sleep sometimes. I stopped when Sharon was elected as PM. Sporadic after that. Then started again when they decided to evict the Gush.

[Eleutheria5]

I’d say yeah. While these c—suckers are trying so hard to make hay out of the flotilla incident, let’s show them the real deal. But if you’d rather not, then e-mail them to me.

[Eleutheria5]

I’m here in Kiryat Arba, waiting for things to come uncorked again. But whatever you want to show, I want to see.

[MestaMachine]

I have the images of one of the Israeli Soldiers being thrown from a window and the boy whose hands are covered in blood celebrating. The rest are the Israeli Soldiers as they were being put into the ambulances dead.
Do you want me to post them? They are bad, but if it will show some of these people what would have happened to the soldiers that boarded the “peace” boat, I will post them. I do not have images of the actual lynch, but the video of them going after the soldiers on the boat is close enough. The result would have been the same.

[MestaMachine]

Did you know Nati Ozeri?