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Freedom Sailors: The Maiden Voyage of the Free Gaza movement and how we succeeded in spite of ourselves. (English Edition) Formato Kindle

Edizione Inglese di Bill Dienst (Autore), Greta Berlin (Autore) Formato: Formato Kindle
4,6 4,6 su 5 stelle 18 voti
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FREEDOM SAILORS is a much-needed account of how a small group of ordinary people conceived and executed what seemed like a grandiose and audacious plan to break Israel’s illegal military blockade of the Gaza Strip, a blockade that keeps more than 1.5 million people in an open-air prison. Knowing what we know now – that Israel Defense Forces would later murder nine people, including an unarmed American citizen, Furkan Dogan, executed at point-blank range during a later Freedom Flotilla – our chutzpah is astonishing.

In a little over two years, we raised the money to purchase two dilapidated fishing boats stored in secret ports in Greece, collected 44 passengers, crew and journalists, aged 22 to 81 and chose Cyprus as our embarkation point.

People who weren't there or weren't close to us may not realize just how isolated we were once we finally set sail to Gaza on the late morning of August 22, 2008; over 33 hours on the sea, no internet, and only a couple of satellite phones which were blocked by the Israelis after night set in.

That first voyage in 2008 achieved exactly what we hoped it would. We opened the door just a bit, proving it could be done. None of the later actions, by land or by sea, would have been possible or even attempted if we hadn't climbed into two ramshackle boats with nothing but our determination and our naiveté holding us together.

Our story of how we came together, raised the necessary money, and pulled off the successful voyage, despite the prying eyes of Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, is often riveting.

More to the point, it helps us understand the importance of taking a stand when you see an injustice rather than becoming complicit through silence.

"Freedom Sailors is a powerful record of the political and humanitarian activity of some of the best humans we are ever likely to meet, or learn about. These women and men leave us with the most wonderful of questions: Is human courage and sacrifice the same as love? And is it this love for ourselves collectively, as humans, that has a chance of saving us and our planet? To read this book is to see what we can be like, in the face of imminent danger."

~ Alice Walker, Earthling poet, writer and activist

"A riveting account of one of the great moments in the history of non-violent resistance: breaking the criminal and sadistic siege of Gaza, and letting the prisoners know that at least some in the outside world care about them and their grim fate. The Free Gaza flotillas are truly an inspiration."

~ Noam Chomsky, Professor, MIT
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  1. Lunghezza stampa
    252 pagine
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  4. Data di pubblicazione
    14 agosto 2012
  5. Dimensioni file
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Dettagli prodotto

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008Y65TSA
  • Editore ‏ : ‎ Free Gaza Press (14 agosto 2012)
  • Lingua ‏ : ‎ Inglese
  • Dimensioni file ‏ : ‎ 2194 KB
  • Utilizzo simultaneo di dispositivi ‏ : ‎ illimitato
  • Da testo a voce ‏ : ‎ Abilitato
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supportato
  • Miglioramenti tipografici ‏ : ‎ Abilitato
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Non abilitato
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Abilitato
  • Memo ‏ : ‎ Su Kindle Scribe
  • Lunghezza stampa ‏ : ‎ 252 pagine
  • Recensioni dei clienti:
    4,6 4,6 su 5 stelle 18 voti

Recensioni clienti

4,6 su 5 stelle
4,6 su 5
18 valutazioni globali

Recensioni migliori da Italia

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Peter R.
5,0 su 5 stelle Gripping, Heartwarming, and Educational
Recensito in Canada il 21 gennaio 2015
Acquisto verificato
A very readable and enlightening story of a heroic journey by a group of people committed to human rights.
I'll start by quoting the legendary Jewish American MIT Professor, Linguist, Philosopher, and peace and human right activist Noam Chomski: "A riveting account of one of the great moments in the history of non-violent resistance: breaking the criminal and sadistic siege of Gaza, and letting the prisoners know that at least some in the outside world care about them and their grim fate. The Free Gaza flotillas are truly an inspiration."
With a forward by a US Colonel who served in the administrations of eight presidents from Johnson to GW Bush, its facts are easily verifiable. One fact was actually new to me: The fact that fishermen in Gaza are (illegally) prevented from fishing to their territorial limits by Israel may be partly motivated by Israel's wish to steal their natural gas fields, the existence of which I verified using the US Geological Survey website.
As to Prof. Chomsky's referal to the blockade as "Sadistic", it's been admitted by Israeli officials that they are limiting even foodstuffs to a point where there is enough food for Gazans not to starve but not to avoid malnutrition. At one point the spice cardamom was actually forbidden. (Security reasons??!!) I have a Jewish doctor friend who has worked in Gaza and confirms that even in times of peace and without bombed infrastructure, the 1.5 million people barracaded into this narrow strip of land are suffering day by day and children are suffering the stress of drone attacks.
For further corroboration, another fine read (a real "page-turner") is Max Blumenthal's "Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel".
A couple of commenters here found the book hard to complete. I believe that if you have at least a 9th grade education and are not blinded by predjudice, you will find this book very hard to put down. I did.
Congratulations to the humane and highly motivated Americans, Canadians, Australians, Europeans, and at least one Israeli Jew who carried out this amazing voyage of hope and have shared their experiences here.
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Steven Mays Fake
5,0 su 5 stelle A Thrilling Chronicle of the Birth of a Movement
Recensito negli Stati Uniti il 29 agosto 2012
Acquisto verificato
When my copy of the wonderful new book Freedom Sailors (Eds. Greta Berlin and Bill Dienst, 2012, Free Gaza Movement) arrived in the mail, I read it all in a sitting.

Freedom Sailors is the story of the birth of a movement of nonviolent resistance. From its inception, the effort was international, involving people around the world in a long and exhausting collaboration to force a change in government policies - to end the blockade of Gaza.

Col. Ann Wright describes in the foreword how she, "As a twenty-nine-year U.S. Army veteran... was stunned by the amount of destruction" evident in the aftermath of the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli assault upon the Gaza Strip. "The Israeli attack with American F-16 jets, drones, American Apache attack helicopters, American white phosphorus bombs, and American dense inert metal explosive bombs killed 1,440 Palestinians including 380 children." Some 50,000 people were all at once homeless, their homes in rubble.

Those of us in the U.S. and allied nations should take note - many humanitarian causes (e.g. Tibet, Burma, and Syria) are worthy of support - but few can be so simply halted by our own governments, requiring little more than the withdrawal of backing to the aggressor.

The years of Israeli imposed blockade upon the tiny territory of Gaza turned it into something worse than the world's largest prison. A prison operating in accord with international standards would not feature such malnutrition among children, such frequent electricity blackouts, or such inadequate medical care resulting from cruel import restrictions.

Freedom Sailors is a true movement book. It is the story of a project that spanned "two years, 250+ people, thousands of donors," and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This short volume is also a fine read. It conveys much of the flavor of this wild ride, as experienced by those involved, ranging from desperate sea-sickness - "She genteelly threw up in biodegradable rubber gloves, carefully tying each one off before handing them to me to throw overboard" - to "much-needed shots of raki." Practical difficulties abounded - to take a minor example, on the Liberty the three toilets on board all quickly ceased functioning. A British Baroness in the House of Lords opines that it "ranks with many of the great adventure stories of history". It has more than a few similarities with a thriller movie - a noble cause, danger, espionage, attempts to thwart the government surveillance, and the inevitable paranoia.

The book is a testament to the power, indeed the necessity, of organizing work done by people who lead otherwise ordinary, mundane lives.

It is a mark of the book's potential that a disinformation campaign aligned with U.S.-Israeli state interests is already focused on the volume. At the time of writing on Aug 28, there are 45 reviews on Amazon.com, 17 of which are 5 star, and 27 one star (and a lone 3 star avoiding a perfect polarity at the extremes). Of those 27 one star reviews, it would be surprising if a single one was posted by someone who actually read the book.

Free Gaza movement is, as Wright notes, "one of the great historical nonviolent actions by citizen activists". One participant commented, "this was never going to be `text book' activism; this was more special." I could not agree more.

Sales proceeds will go to support exactly the sort of work detailed so engagingly in the book (the authors are accepting no royalties).
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Carl Freeman
5,0 su 5 stelle Read all the reviews then assess which of them are by people who have actually read the book!
Recensito nel Regno Unito il 4 maggio 2013
Acquisto verificato
Background to my purchase of the book and impressions of other reviews.

This book was recommended to my by a friend and as usual - my next port of call (to use a sea-faring analogy) was then Amazon. The first thing I noticed when researching this book on Amazon's website was an absolute polarisation between the reviews. Clearly this was a controversial book...or so I assumed. Negative reviewers seemed by and large hostile towards the book, accusing it of supporting terrorism and of anti-Semitism. In most cases, there was no reference to any of the content, suggesting perhaps that the reviewers were "judging a book by its cover". It is possible I suppose that the fact that the front of the book carries a photograph of boats flying Palestinian flags was too much for their sensibilities. For instance, one review accuses the "author" of arrogance and hatred - but anyone who actually read the book will realise that whilst it has two editors, the book is a collection of writings by many of those who took part in the events described therein. Certainly in writing my review, I know it would be inaccurate to refer to "the author" as there is no clearly identifiable, single contributor to the book.

Whilst the number of one star reviews (at time of purchase) outnumbered those awarding multiple stars - the devil is in the detail of the reviews. On balance, I felt that there was more evidence that those recommending the book had actually read it and enjoyed doing so. Those who denigrated it probably had an agenda that did not require them to either read the book or offer any critical analysis. I decided to find out for myself and ordered it. Now I must confess, I have a bit of a track record of buying books and then not managing to find the time to read them. In fact other books that I purchased before this one remain untouched on the bookshelf. So other than a cursory flick though when it arrived, I did not delve into its covers properly for a month. In fact the catalyst for reading it was coincidentally a small news item about another boat that attempted to sail to Gaza in October (2012) - The Estelle. Despite having elected Members of Parliament from half a dozen nations on board and a number of Israeli citizens - the Israeli Navy intercepted it in international waters and towed it to Israel. I will not report further on what happened to those aboard as that is an incidental issue. It did however make me want to carve out some time and read about the people whose story is told in Freedom Sailors and their motives for what seemed like a foolhardy mission. I use that term not just because of the fate of those who sailed on the Estelle, but in the context of what happened to those aboard the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish boat containing a multi-national contingent of politicians, humanitarian workers and activists that was intercepted with the loss of nine lives almost three years ago. When I did finally get around to reading the book, this is what I found.....I will divide the remainder of this review into two sections "the book" and "the politics". Both are intertwined, but as this is an online bookstore - and this is intended to be a book review - I feel it is important to devote a significant proportion of this review to the book itself. Particularly as I criticised another reviewer for simply setting out a political diatribe rather than actually producing a book review.

The book.

The first thing to say is that I really enjoyed reading this book. At first, I thought its layout and style would annoy me. It is a collection of personal accounts from different people involved. Sometimes these accounts are describing the same element of the story, but from a different perspective. It also contains different styles of writing. For instance, free-flowing narrative is interspersed with the reproduction of key emails. However, despite the potential for this to be annoying it really works. (For anyone who has read Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, you might get a sense of what I mean).

But by weaving together different perspectives on the same events, you get a sense of the personalities involved, what makes them tick, why they came to board two tiny boats bobbing about in the middle of the Mediterranean leaving hefty overdrafts on shore, with limited (if any) sailing experience but a collective need to leave behind their comfort zones for the benefit of complete strangers living on a tiny strip of land hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of miles from their cosy lives. The backgrounds of this gang of 44 mariners are extremely varied. People who set out on this odyssey (for me, the adventures had echoes of Homer's heroic and epic tale) came from a range of nationalities and faiths, although by no means were all of them "people of faith" - or at least not in the "organised religion" sense of the word!

I will leave my observations as to "what drove these crazy people to do what they did" to the "politics" section of this review. For now I will stick to "what" they did and "how" they did it rather than "why".

As one who enjoys sea travel, and who generally likes to know that he is actually on a boat (usually when crossing the English Channel to France) I had my personal love of this method of transport seriously questioned during a particularly rough crossing of the Bay of Biscay on a longer-than-normal route to Northern Spain one February. I experienced what seemed like an interminable Hell. Prior to that crossing, I had never once been sea-sick. Having had that experience though, I never want to be so again. Therefore, when reading of the conditions aboard the two boats and the toll it exacted on the passengers I was able to feel great empathy for them. But I don't think anyone needs to have personal experience of sea-sickness to feel for the amateur sailors and the physical toll that their journey took on them. You can sense the colour draining from their faces.

The book covers a lot of ground before its protagonists set foot on either of the two boats, and there were many other challenges on land before setting sail in tempestuous seas (or running aground due to inexperience and poor map-reading skills!).

I was impressed by the candour of the writers. It would be easy for them to sanitise their account, and leave out admissions that at times, they were guilty of more than a degree of naivety. Buying a new mobile phone is complicated enough in terms of being able to decide what features you might need but I guess we live in the smart phone age, and we know people who have mobiles and so can consult them. Not many "city-dwellers" will have a circle of friends they can call upon for advice with regards to buying boats or navigating them. So purchasing two boats on another continent when you have no idea that once you own them, you may need to do things like have a wheelhouse constructed, or have the engine serviced requires you to have a great deal of faith in other people. Indeed, the planners suffered a number of setbacks along the way. But the best stories often portray achievement in the face of adversity. And so I found myself willing the freedom sailors onto success, laughing on occasions and more than once, wiping tears from my eyes.

A tiny handful of people have a vision. Not only did they dream of breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, but also of establishing a regular ferry service to and from Gaza - reuniting families and delivering essential supplies. But as Burns famously observed, the best laid plans of mice and men aft gang agley.

If I have one criticism of the book, it is the final chapter. This is written in a totally different style from the rest of the book as it deals with the geopolitics of the region and is backed up by a plethora of references. As such, the book changes abruptly from an engrossing and totally thrilling story of human effort and endurance, battling against the odds (and some times each other) into a relatively dry and academic analysis of some likely motives behind the sea blockade of Gaza which differ from the rationale portrayed in the media. I can understand the reasons behind including it - but I think I would have drawn a clearer distinction between the "story" and the "lecture" - perhaps making it more of an "epilogue" and preparing the reader that he or she is about to read what feels a bit like a separate publication. But please don't let that put you off. As I have already mentioned - the story itself had me laughing and crying in places. I found myself rooting for this plucky band of assorted souls and despite having a fairly good idea of the ending (the blurb on the back cover and the photograph on the front are quite good clues) I still found myself wondering if they would make it - such were the challenges that they faced on this epic voyage. It is perhaps not quite in the same league as Homer's timeless classic, the Odyssey, but there are plenty of parallels in terms of drama and the sometimes hidden dangers encountered on the way.

I confess that ordinarily I would have given this book four stars - it falls short of being a masterpiece - principally as I personally found the last chapter to detract from the human story. That Is not to say that the chapter concerned was not informative. In fact it opened my eyes to things I was unaware of. I had no idea there were so many natural resources off the coast of Gaza (particularly natural gas). But I do think this could have been presented differently. I do feel that any reviewer has a responsibility to point out any faults - and for me, this was probably the only one. But in light of the fact that some reviewers have clearly awarded a single star without any explanation, (from which I infer they have not actually read the book), I have opted to award it the full five stars by way of compensation and to redress this inbalance.

The politics

There are few issues in the world that seem to be able to polarise opinion as greatly as the relationship between Israel and Palestine. It would also appear to be a major cause of selectivity in terms of how facts are accepted or rejected. Last year (2012), the General Synod of the Church of England, not the most radical or liberal institution in the world held a debate and a vote. The subject of the debate was sparked by a motion by one of its members seeking official endorsement by the Church of England of the work of EAPPI. EAPPI stands for Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Israel and Palestine. EAPPI recruits and trains volunteers to observe and report on incidents in the two countries. It is a neutral body so if its volunteers witness Palestinians or Israelis acting violently during a confrontation, or at a protest, or near to a house demolition, they report it. EAPPI volunteers are armed only with notebooks and with video cameras. Cameras never lie. Despite intensive lobbying by critics of EAPPI in the UK, accusing the Church of England of being anti-Semitic, and that a vote in support of EAPPI would harm relations between Jews and Christians, the vote went in favour of EAPPI by some considerable margin (unlike the more recent vote on women bishops).

Similarly the vote at the United Nations on "observer status" for Palestine resulted in an overwhelming and convincing vote by 139 "yes" votes to "9" no votes in favour of admitting Palestine into the United Nations in an enhanced capacity has illustrated how something is clearly wrong and needs putting right. With a third of the countries voting against comprising Micronesia, Nauru and Palau, the scale of the vote appears even starker. Not that I wish to denigrate those three countries, but be honest, how many people reading this review would be able to point to them on a map of the world without consulting an Atlas?

Can 139 countries really be so wrong or has the case for Palestinian Statehood been long won, well made, and accepted by the overwhelming majority of nations but is being obstructed by Israel and the United States of America and a tiny handful of countries that they are able to bring into their camp?

Returning to Freedom Sailors, what lies at the heart of this book is a microcosm of what is happening in the world at large. Growing numbers of individuals have realised that something needs to change and that the status quo cannot be allowed to continue. Key governments seem unwilling to do anything at all, and so it is left to citizens to draw attention to the impact of the international community's failure to solve this enduring problem on people of the region. It is not in the interests of ordinary Palestinians or Israelis that this conflict continues. So groups such as Codepink in America, The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and Combatants for Peace in Israel, and of course organisations such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Jews for Justice for Palestinians here in the UK are doing their bit. And then there are small, non aligned groups such as those who sailed aboard "the Liberty" and "the Free Gaza" who have played their part in bringing attention to the plight of Gaza's inhabitants to the world.

One of my favourite quotations of all time is by an anthropologist, Margaret Mead. She said

"Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world. It is all that ever has".

The Freedom Sailors and other similar groups act as the World's conscience, drawing attention to the situation of the Palestinian people. I firmly believe that if it were not for them, governments of the world would not have voted on mass in support of Palestine at the United Nations. Closing with one more naval analogy....the tide seems to be turning.

Freedom Sailors, I salute you!
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Michael R. Burch
5,0 su 5 stelle I am an editor and publisher of Holocaust poetry ...
Recensito negli Stati Uniti il 22 agosto 2012
Acquisto verificato
I am an editor and publisher of Holocaust poetry, and I think FREEDOM SAILORS is a "must read" book for anyone who wants to know how people who believe in equal rights, freedom and justice for EVERYONE can tackle the forces of racism and oppression. But more than that, it is a highly moving, entertaining work of art in its own right.

While I have never met Greta Berlin, it has been my honor and privilege to work with her for peace and justice through Facebook groups, and she has my utmost respect. Imagine a grandmother and a rag-tag group of peace activists facing down the mighty IDF on the high seas, then running a naval blockade to bring hope and humanitarian aid to the suffering mothers and children of Gaza! Just imagine the feelings of surprised joy, renewed hope and solidarity that the people of Gaza felt, when they saw the first boat actually steam into port!

Of course it took a determined, highly motivated team of peace activists to raise the money to buy the first boat, provision it, and make it seaworthy. It took inordinate courage for the freedom sailors to make out their wills, not knowing if they would return alive. Israel has killed peace activists, including nine members of one of the ships of the Gaza Flotilla, so the fears of the freedom sailors were well-founded. This book tells their story, and it is sort of a cross between James Bond and Mutiny on the Bounty, with Israel being Captain Bligh.

FREEDOM SAILORS is a moving, exciting, riveting book and I highly recommend it. But it is also an IMPORTANT book, because it proves that people who believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for EVERYONE are not powerless.

Ironically, if Israel ever finds the path to peace, it will have to thank courageous peace activists like Greta Berlin, Mary Hughes Thompson and their fellow freedom sailors.

But regardless of one's social and political views, the book is a great read. It is unfortunate to see so many negative reviews of the book; readers should understand that all or most such reviews are motivated by the same impulse that drove Nazis and Confederates to claim that their victims "only got what they had coming to them." But whenever we see women and children being collectively imprisoned and punished for the "crime" of having been "born wrong," we cannot be so unwise to listen to what the real criminals and their apologists and propagandists say. If you read the book, it will become more than obvious that Greta Berlin and the freedom sailors really were -- and are -- the good guys.

Michael R. Burch
Holocaust and Nakba poetry editor
The HyperTexts
[...]
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James
5,0 su 5 stelle REAL History, REAL Humanity. An honest & passionate read
Recensito nel Regno Unito il 2 novembre 2012
Acquisto verificato
Sadly modern history is traditionally (mis) reported (much of it as propaganda) by the invaders and hegemonic occupiers and oppressors.

This great book which I bought on Kindle is a volume of REAL history in the making and I think a copy of it should be on the shelves of every history department in every library & every educational establishment on the planet, so that more people might know the TRUTH about the horror of the illegal siege, the 2008/09 Massacre and the ongoing slaughter and maiming of civilians in Gaza & the Western/Israeli attempts to destroy their Democracy, as we destroyed the Democracy in Iran sixty years ago, and in so many other countries since.

CONGRATULATIONS to Greta Berlin and everyone on the Free Gaza team of humanity, unconditional love and NON-VIOLENT ACTIONS for JUSTICE & PEACE.
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