By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-976815.mp3
Northhampton, MA – The attempt to break through Isreal's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip appears to be over for this summer. Most of the activists who had hoped to reach Gaza as part of an international flotilla left Greece Thursday and returned home, including a woman from Northampton Massachusetts. WAMC's Pioneer Valley News Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.
Northampton peace activist Paki Wieland says although Isreal's sea blockade of Gaza was not broken, this summer's campaign, dubbed Freedom Flotilla Two, was a success.
Wieland was one of 37 passengers on an American flagged ship named " The Audacity of Hope" It left a Greek port on July 1st, but was intercepted by the Greek Coast Guard and turned back. The Greek authorities, citing security concerns, banned all Gaza bound ships.
Only a few of the ships carried any type of humanitarian aid. The flotilla was chiefly a protest over what the activist claim is an Israeli siege of Gaza. Last summer, Israeli commandos intercepted a Turkish ship attempting to run the blockade and nine people were killed.
Activists have compared the Gaza flotilla to the Freedom Rides through the Southern United States during the civil rights movement a half century ago. Wieland said the experience in Greece left her and the others emboldened and encouraged.
After being forced to return to port , Wieland and others staged a hunger strike protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens.
Wieland said her participation in the Gaza flotilla was supported by several local organizations, including the Northampton Committee to Stop the War, and the Alliance for Peace and Justice. Wieland's Friday news conference in Northampton was attended by a dozen supporters, and several held pro-Gaza signs.
There was also a pro-Israeli demonstrator, Joseph Morse of Northampton, who said Isreali's blockade of Gaza is not punitive, but strictly defensive.
Israel says the naval blockade is to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas, the terrorist organization, that controls the elected government in Gaza.