Posted on 06/08/2010 8:44:16 AM PDT by Constitutionalist Conservative
Israeli students are planning a "peace flotilla" to Turkey with humanitarian aid for nations who suffered under Turkish imperialism – the Kurds and Armenians. The initiative comes in response to the world's sharp criticism of Israel's lethal raid on the Gaza flotilla which left nine activists dead and many wounded.
The organizers are currently seeking a suitable vessel and trying to recruit other students to the cause. No date has yet been set, but a skipper has been found: Arik Ofir, a member of the navy veteran's union and owner of a private business. They have also obtained medical supplies, and hope that by the end of the week they will be able to set out.
"The whole world saw the flotilla and thought Israel is a terrible state, which comes to shoot people who call themselves peace activists," said Chairman of the National Students Union Boaz Torporovsky, who is also involved. "It's absurd that they always put the Israeli occupation in the headlines and don't talk about extreme Islamic terror. There's a lot of hypocrisy in the world.
"Turkey, which leads the campaign against Israel and makes all sorts of threats is the same Turkey that carried out a holocaust and murdered an entire nation of Armenians, and oppresses a minority larger than the Palestinians – the Kurds – who deserve a state, who have demanded a state for longer than the State of Israel has existed."
"For this reason," he continued, "we have decided to help that minority and show up the hypocrisy of the Turkish government. We are sure that they won't care if we sent humanitarian aid. It'll be a peace flotilla without the knives or stones that hurt IDF soldiers, without violence, which is intended for all those oppressed by the Turkish government.
"If (Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's heart is where his mouth is, which we all know isn't so, he has no reason to prevent the flotilla from arriving."
And what about the practicalities? "For the flotilla to work, we need three elements: Money, logistics and balls," he said. "We're bringing the balls and some of the logistics, but we need lots of money."
The National Student Union has been active in PR for a long time. Torporovsky even infiltrated into a UN conference once, and slammed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an incident which received extensive coverage around the world.
Student representatives even got in contact with Iranian students oppressed by the regime in an attempt to raise awareness about what is happening in Iran.
Don't Hold Your Breath Bump
This is refreshing for Israel who has long denied the reality of the genocide of 4 million Greek, Assyrian and Armenian Christians by murderous Turk Muslims.
The fact that the Turk flotilla originated in northern occupied Cyprus - that was ethnically cleansed of Chrstian Greeks after Turk invasions is also savagely ironic on the part of the Turk.
Thank you Israeli students! It’s a start.
Awesome and Brilliant both !!
This is a terrific idea. Certainly the Turks have treated Kurds and Armenians quite poorly for a very long, long time.
My DH read this to me this weekend. I was busy at that time and couldn’t post it. I’m so glad you did! Thank you!
bttt
Well played, I hope they get a lot of press.
ML/NJ
Brilliant move by brave students!
Help the oppressed Kurds and Armenians!
Diogenesis,
I always appreciate your posts and links. Very salient and informative. The link to the Pipes article is very timely.
Thanks again
Justice? George Orwell would have loved this thread. When Bush was prez, just about everybody here condemned the Turkish Kurd rebels as “terrorists.” This is yet another reason for the U.S. to stop policing that region.
How are they going to get the money when 3-4 billion people want them dead or helpless?
Bush was wrong too. Very wrong. But our State dept policy has been misguidedly wrong for a long long time.
Not everybody could see it then.
While we’re at it, someone should inquire about Turkey’s “ethnic cleansing” of Greeks in the 1920s. Greeks had lived around the entire Aegean sea since before the time of Homer. In the 1920s, they were forced out, and hundreds of thousands of refugees were forced to leave everything and head for “mainland” Greece.
Does Turkey have a right to Ephesus, and other Greek homelands?
(Turkey should learn that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones...)
What do you mean Bush was wrang. As far I remember, Bush made Kurds our main ally, while Turkey scewed us bad in Iraq. The one thing Bush was wrong about was giving Kosove to Albanians on a silver platter, thus finalizing Clinton’s crimes.
Israeli students - brave, smart, ready to defend their homeland. Hats off to ‘em - they’ve won my respect.
Please explain something to me. Excuse my ignorance, but did Greeks staged protests outside the Israle embassy in Athena and why there were Greeks on the Turkish ship?
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