STORY about Direct ActionGovernancePeace/WarPolice/Prisons posted on October 20, 2012 by flux
Estelle Peace Ship attacked by Israeli Military
Canadian among those arrested in international waters
On the Estelle before the boarding
Also posted by flux:
Also in Police/Prisons:
My husband Jim Manly is in Israeli custody. The Canadian schooner the Estelle was attacked in International waters around 4:30AM EDT.
Shortly after 4:00AM EDT when the Estelle was in international waters approx. 17 Nautical Miles north of Arish, Egypt (as per the last coordinates we have) Israeli war ships surrounded it and the assault on the peaceful ship started.
Communications were lost at that time and all reports we got from the ship were choppy.
Among others, the following individuals were on board:
Former Member of Parliament Manly James, Canada
Member of Parliament Hagen Aksel, Norway
Member of Parliament Britton Sven, Sweden
Member of Parliament Kodelas Dimitios, Greece
Member of Parliament Sixto Ricardo, Spain
Member of Parliament Diamantopoulos Evangelos, Greece
Full list of individuals onboard: http://shiptogaza.se/en/news/sailors-onboard-estelle
See Jim Manly's pre-recorded video message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8egYBdf-Zo
As pre his request please contact the Prime Minister and your local member of parliament and ask them to insist that the Israeli government respect the human rights and legal rights of those aboard the Estelle.
- Stephen Harper (Prime Minister of Canada)
613-992-4211
stephen.harper@parl.gc.ca
- John Baird (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
613-996-0984
john.baird@parl.gc.ca
Why is Jim Manly sailing to challenge Gaza blockade?
Why did Jim accept the invitation to be the Canadian on board the Estelle, the Freedom Flotilla boat sailing for Gaza to break the blockade?
Our decision was a joint one, a result of 53 years of working together as a team and supporting each other in both individual and joint pursuits. I have always been attracted to Jim’s sense of humour, his ability to think “outside the box” and the fact he did not fit my stereotype of clergy! After all these years we still make each other laugh and are still able to surprise each other.
Another thing drew me to Jim: he has the courage to follow his convictions and the guts to act on them – even when these actions are unpopular. He is also one of the least confrontational people I know.
Jim and I have worked together on many human rights issues. We are grateful to the Haisla people of Kitamaat, with whom we spent the first four years of our married life and whose friendships and influence we still cherish, for opening our eyes to the issues facing First Nations people and other indigenous peoples. This led indirectly to our involvement with other human rights struggles: Mexican American farm workers, refugees from the coup in Chile, the people of Nicaragua and El Salvador, the Maya of Guatemala, and refugees from Colombia and Nigeria among other places. It also led to our involvement in Church Sanctuary for refugees and accompaniment of people facing death threats. Through all this we avoided the issue of Palestine/Israel, accepting the line that “it is too complex”, too divisive and likely to alienate friends.
So, people ask, when and how did that change? We read Drinking the Sea at Gaza by Amira Haas, the Israeli journalist who lived in Gaza and reported for the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. We heard Jeff Halper, founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, and for the first time we began to understand the true nature of the “Separation Wall”, known among Palestinians as the “Annexation Wall”. We learned all we could on the issue (much of it written by Jewish Israelis) and helped form Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and more recently in the United Network for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel. We participated in a Pilgrimage of Solidarity, visiting Israelis and Palestinians who work together for a just and peaceful future. They inspire us to work with them.
Jim has always avoided the limelight (strange for someone who went into politics). It was only his strong engagement with this issue that led him to agree to sail. He is on the Estelle to bring attention to the suffering of the Palestinians of Gaza.
He is there out of a commitment to human rights and social justice. He hopes to bring awareness to Canadians about what is being done to the Palestinians in the name of Israeli security.
He is there in the hope that his actions may bring Canadian MPs from all parties, but especially the NDP and particularly the younger generation of NDP MPs who were elected with the hope for change, to break the walls of silence and speak out.
If there was room for another Canadian I would be there with Jim. There is no other place I would rather be now. May he come home safe.
Eva Manly of Nanaimo B.C. is married to retired NDP MP and United Church minister Jim Manly who is sailing to challenge the Gaza blockade. For updates please see http://www.gazaark.org/category/follow-jim-manly-on-the-estelle/
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