<div dir="ltr">From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Gaza's Ark</b> <br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote">Date: Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 1:28 PM<br>Subject: Help Us Tell How Gaza's Ark Will Challenge the Blockade<br>
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<a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank"> </a><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size:11pt"><i><a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank">Français -
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<b><br>
</b><big><big><b>Help Us Tell How Gaza's Ark Will Challenge the
Blockade</b></big></big> <font face="Times New Roman, Times,
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Dear Friends,<br>
<br>
Gaza’s Ark is a project supporting Palestinians to rebuild a
boat in Gaza which will carry Palestinian products out to the
world. With your support, Gaza's Ark will challenge the unjust
blockade of civilians in Gaza. With your support, Palestinians
will achieve their right to live with dignity.<br>
<br>
We're very close to making an announcement about our boat!
Meanwhile, we've made a video telling the story of how Gaza's
Ark will challenge the blockade and show that global public
opinion hasn't forgotten the struggle for Palestinian rights.
It's just five minutes long, but we hope you'll agree it's very
powerful. Please watch our video here and share with your
networks:<br>
<a href="http://www.gazaark.org/2013/04/19/video-how-gazas-ark-will-challenge-the-blockade-of-gaza/" target="_blank">http://www.gazaark.org/2013/04/19/video-how-gazas-ark-will-challenge-the-blockade-of-gaza/</a><br>
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One easy way to show your support for Gaza's Ark is to become an
endorser. We list endorsers on our website - it shows how
support for Gaza's Ark is coming from all over the world. You
can also encourage your friends to become endorsers. Here is the
link:<br>
<a href="http://www.gazaark.org/endorse/" target="_blank">http://www.gazaark.org/endorse/</a><br>
<br>
Gaza's Ark supporters recently gathered at the World Social
Forum in Tunis, spreading the news about Gaza's Ark to social
movements from around the world. They issued a public statement
to the media gathered in Tunis about the role of Gaza's Ark in
challenging the blockade. The statement is reproduced below* and
is also available on our website:<br>
<a href="http://www.gazaark.org/2013/04/04/freedom-flotilla-coalition-statement-in-tunis/" target="_blank">http://www.gazaark.org/2013/04/04/freedom-flotilla-coalition-statement-in-tunis/</a><br>
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Thank you for all you do for justice!<br>
Gaza’s Ark Steering Com</font>mittee<br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> </font></div>
<div><b><i><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Gaza's Ark
Steering Committee</font></i></b></div>
<div><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><i>Building Hope by
sailing from Palestine against the blockade<br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank"> </a></i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size:11pt"><i><a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank">Français -
Español - Italiano - Português - Deutsch - Dansk - Svenska
- Norsk - ελληνικά - العربية - עברית :</a><br>
</i></span><i><a href="http://www.gazaark.org/translation/" target="_blank">http://www.gazaark.org/translation/</a></i></font>
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<small><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
<b><span lang="EN-US"><font face="Helvetica, Arial,
sans-serif">*<br>
Gaza’s Ark and other Direct Action <br>
against the Blockade & for Freedom of Movement</font><u></u><u></u></span></b><br>
</font></small><small><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">(<a href="http://freedomflotilla.org/" target="_blank">http://freedomflotilla.org/</a>)<br>
<br>
</font></small><small><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><i><span lang="EN-US">Freedom Flotilla Coalition Statement <br>
Tunis, March 31, 2013<u></u><u></u></span></i><br>
<br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">The international Freedom Flotilla
Coalition, representing civil society solidarity
organizations and individual activists from different
countries, attended the World Social Forum in Tunis where we
spread our call for direct non-violent action against the
inhuman and illegal blockade of Gaza and in support of full
freedom of movement for all Palestinians.<u></u><u></u></span><br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">We were delighted to meet with great
interest from World Social Forum participants and many
Tunisians for our current Gaza’s Ark campaign, which
challenges the blockade from the inside out by rebuilding a
boat to sail from the only Mediterranean port closed to
navigation with a cargo of Palestinian products for export.
These export products will be purchased by solidarity
organizations and businesses willing to assume the
commercial risk of the voyage in order to support some
Palestinians in Gaza with an opportunity to overcome
Israel’s stranglehold on their ability to earn a living
through their own work. In addition to Palestinian products
from the Gaza Strip, we call for the export of products from
all of Palestine via the port of Gaza, in defiant rejection
of the occupier’s separation policies which try to divide
the occupied Palestinian territories.<u></u><u></u></span><br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is also
announcing our new campaign to increase solidarity with the
fishermen of Gaza, who face a further illegal reduction of
their fishing waters (from 6 to just 3 nautical miles) in
recent weeks, just a few after the small gains made
following the November 2012 cease-fire. It is utterly
unacceptable that Palestinian fishing boats still face
shooting and violent seizure from the Israeli navy for
fishing in their own waters. The Palestinian fishing fleet
must have access to no less than the full 20 nautical mile
fishing zone they are guaranteed under the Oslo accords, and
beyond that, to fishing in international waters, as do as
all other coastal nations in the world.<u></u><u></u></span><br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">We call for the immediate and safe return
of all boats seized by the Israeli occupation navy: both the
dozens of Palestinian fishing boats that have been stolen
and the different international vessels from solidarity
voyages sequestered over a number years. We demand that all
these boats be returned without delay to their rightful
owners, in the locations where they were seized and in the
same condition they were seized, and that Israel pay
compensation to owners for any damage incurred as well as
for the lost use of their property.<u></u><u></u></span><br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">The Freedom Flotilla’s strategy of direct
action against the blockade includes legal follow-up in our
countries to demand public accountability from those
responsible for these Israeli crimes against civilians.
Legal proceedings against Israeli crimes are already
underway in Turkey and Spain and are being prepared in other
countries as well. <u></u><u></u></span><br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">Our attendance at the Forum in Tunis
allowed us not only to present our work and campaigns to
other World Social Forum participants (including
participating in the convergent assembly that led to the
final declaration on Palestine), it also put us in touch
with new supporters from the world over. We are particularly
pleased to have met many new Tunisians supporters at the
Forum and at the Land Day march for Palestine on the final
day, and we looking forward to forging new partnerships for
our campaigns in Tunisia and in other countries.<u></u><u></u></span><br>
<br>
<span lang="EN-US">The blockade of Gaza will not be lifted by
empty ‘apologies’ between governments about ‘incidents’: a
real, concrete and lasting solution requires direct action
against the blockade by grassroots civil-society
organizations in solidarity with Palestinians.<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><span><font color="#888888"><u></u><u></u></font></span></font></span></span><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><span><font color="#888888"><br>
</font></span></font></span></font></small></div></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
</font></span></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br></div></font></span></div></div>-- <br>Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><br>
<a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br>
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