Israel advocacy group StandWithUs to surprise the European convoy at sea.
By ZOE FOXGazaProtestFlotilla311(photo credit: .)
The European “Freedom Flotilla” making its way to Gaza bearing humanitarian aid and activists may have a surprise waiting when it reaches Israel’s southern waters on Friday.Israel advocacy group StandWithUs plans to greet the European convoy with its own demonstration at sea. A fleet of privately owned Israeli boats will leave the Ashdod and Herzliya marinas in hopes of surprising the European activists Friday at 1 p.m.The counter-flotilla ships will be covered in “Free Gaza from Hamas” banners and boat owners will wear bloodstained T-shirts, representing Hamas’s terror record.StandWithUs and individual donations will fund the demonstration. “What the other anti-Israel flotilla is doing is ignoring human rights abuses and focusing on a fake situation,” Michael Dickson, StandWithUs’s Israel director, told The Jerusalem Post Thursday.Dickson believes the European activists care more about hurting Israel than helping the Palestinians in Gaza.Lior Meyer, a StandWithUs project manager planning the move, hopes the demonstration will show that Gaza is suffering from a Hamas siege, rather than the Israeli blockade.“I hope they’re not expecting anything. When someone’s surprised by thetruth it’s only a good thing,” Meyer said, claiming that few peopleknow the nature of Hamas’s control.Dickson said that the European activists’ aid could have reached Gazain a day instead of a week if they weren’t interested in making apublicity statement.“I think that the key thing is that this is not some fair-mindedmission coming in that cares for peace. Their flotilla is driven byhate, rather than peace. They don’t really care about the victims wholive under Hamas in Gaza and the south of Israel,” he said.
As of Thursday afternoon, five individuals had volunteered their boatsfor the StandWithUS effort. Dickson predicted more people would join.“If the activists had done their homework instead of believing Hamaspropaganda, they would also have found out that their assistance isn’tneeded. There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Dickson said.
