Israeli Advocacy Group Helps Delay Departure of Gaza-Bound Flotilla

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The departure of a pro-Palestinian flotilla of international ships planning to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza has been delayed, largely because of the efforts of an Israeli advocacy group, both sides said Tuesday.

Greek authorities have detained two of the ships docked here, including an American vessel, after the Israeli advocacy group, Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, submitted a complaint to the Greek Coast Guard suggesting that seven of the ships might be lacking insurance or were improperly registered.

Ten ships are expected to head toward Gaza this week in a challenge to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which is governed by the militant group Hamas. All the vessels are insured and have been certified as seaworthy, said Adam Shapiro, a coordinator and spokesman for the flotilla.

Shurat HaDin, which describes itself as a civil rights organization, has also contacted about 30 maritime insurance providers to warn that insuring the vessels may leave the companies open to prosecution for aiding a terrorist organization, said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the director of the group. There have been reports that several vessels have been unable to join the flotilla because of insurance problems."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/world/middleeast/29flotilla.html


Israel Law Center behind harassment of flotilla funded by homophobic End Timer Pastor John Hagee

<snip>

"On June 24, Joseph Dana, a journalist who will traveling aboard the US boat to Gaza, discovered that an anonymous private legal complaint had been filed against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. The complaint alleged that US boat, “The Audacity of Hope,” was not sea worthy and therefore was unfit to sail. In response, the harbor master in Athens, Greece, where the boat was docked, told the crew that he could not allow them to leave until the complaint was resolved.

Two days later, the Israel Law Center, Shurat Hadin, accepted responsibility for the complaint, which was essentially a baseless but startlingly successful exercise in legal harassment. Who is Shurat Hadin, and what is their agenda? According to the group’s website, Shurat Hadin is a Tel Aviv-based law center that specializes in lawsuits against “terrorists.” Its founder, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, describes herself in her bio as a “human rights activist.”

Darshan-Leitner began her harassment of the US boat to Gaza began weeks ago when it filed a civil action against “perceived supporters of Hamas” on behalf of Alan Bauer, an American doctor who was injured along with his son in a 2002 Jerusalem bombing attack. The action also threatened maritime insurance companies with legal consequences if they insured any of the boats involved in the flotilla.

I have discovered that a major donor to Shurat Hadin is the homophobic far-right Pastor John Hagee. In March 2010, I reported that Hagee appeared beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a major rally in Jerusalem to denounce the two state solution and announce the financial contributions he and his supporters were making to Israeli organizations. Among the organizations Hagee said he had bankrolled was Shurat Hadin."

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/06/israel-law-center-behind-harassment-of-flotilla-funded-by-homophobic-end-timer-pastor-john-hagee.html

[Violet_Crumble]

1. I'm sensing some real desperation to stop the flotilla n/t

[King_David]

2. Very creative

And non-violent.