ACT NOW!! BOATS SAILING NOW TO GAZA! SPREAD THE WORD.

Israel and the US outsourced the siege of Gaza to Athens last summer by preventing 8 boats in the Freedom Flotilla 2-Stay Human from sailing from Greek ports to Gaza. Despite this we were able to bring world-wide attention to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Our efforts in Greece only fueled our determination to challenge the imprisonment of the people of Gaza. We said we would continue to sail and so we are!!!
 
At this moment, two boats are in international waters in the Mediterranean heading to Gaza.  One boat, the Saoirse from Ireland, includes parliamentarians among its passengers.  The other, the Tahrir, carries representatives from Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Palestine.  The U.S. Representative on the Tahrir, Kit Kittredge, was a passenger on the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope mission in Athens in July.  A journalist from Democracy Now is on the Tahrir also. Civil society organizations in Gaza await their arrival, and look forward to the delivery of letters collected from thousands of U.S. supporters in the To Gaza With Love campaign.  
 
We need your help to make this mission a success. Please take these actions immediately.
 
1. Check these websites for updates:  US to Gaza, Irish Ship to Gaza and Canadian Boat to Gaza,  watch  or listen to Democracy Now for live coverage from the Tahrir.. Look for twitter hashtag #Freedomwaves.
 
2. Spread the word far and wide – send this alert to your contacts.
 
3. Call the State Department  and the White House- demand that they take immediate action to ensure the safe passage of these boats and to put an end to the siege of Gaza.
 
Call the State Department:
      Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 202-647-5291
      U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro 011-972-3-519-7575
      Office of Israel/Palestinian Affairs Paul Sutphin 202-647-3672
      Office of Consular Affairs, Kim Richter 202-647-8308
 
 and the White House: 202-456-1414
  
      email President Obama at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
 
Here are some talking points or suggested messaging: 
 
Gaza has been under siege since mid-2006, depriving 1.6 million people of their liberty and basic human rights.  Although the siege has been condemned by the United Nations, the Red Cross, and many national governments, nothing has been done to ease the plight of these civilians.  Civil society has had to act where governments would not.  Two ships with 27 passengers from 5 countries are sailing to Gaza to confront the Israeli naval blockade, and to bring medical supplies and letters of support. 
 
As Americans we insist that our government (which sends Israel $3 billion in military aid every year), demands that Israel insures the ships’ safe passage and ends its illegal blockade of Gaza. There is absolutely no excuse to subject 1.6 million people to collective punishment. Ask your local press to cover this story.  Up-to-date information will be available at www.ustogaza.org, www.irishshiptogaza.org  andwww.tahrir.ca