On a Slow Boat to Gaza

A lighter blockade could soften Israel's image while keeping heavy weapons out of Gaza, and activists at home.

Three hundred and thirty or so pro-Palestinian activists are holed up in Greece, trying to find a way to leave port to sail to Gaza, where they intend to distribute aid packages to the blockaded territory. Yousef Munayyer, writing for Al Jazeera, proclaims, perhaps a bit prematurely, that these activists are the latest embodiment of the Arab Spring. “When fundamentally unjust situations are left unaddressed by states, the people must step in,” he writes. Israel, the quartet powers, and even the Palestinian leadership are all guilty, to some degree, of letting Gaza fester away under the blockade. Sure, aid trickles in and exports are sent out across the Gaza-Israeli border every day, but the standard of living there is a blight on the region. Stunts like the flotilla wouldn't be necessary if the aforementioned authorities were as devoted to finding a way to end the blockade as they were to squabbling over those who want to break it.

Not helping matters is Hamas' role in both perpetuating the blockade and calling for its end, notes former Israeli intelligence officer Michael Ross in the National Post. There's a depressing irony in Hamas issuing a statement condemning Greece for blocking the flotilla from Damascus, “that Mecca of social justice and human rights.” The activists, “authors of their own satire,” as Ross puts it, would surely bolster their cause if they spoke out against Hamas and its routine rocket attacks against Israel, which are used to justify the whole blockade. Ross goes on to paint the activists as anti-Semitic, which obscures whatever good points he made, but he's right(-ish) that certain elements within the flotilla brigade go a long way toward delegitimizing the activists' more altruistic ambitions.

A far more nuanced take can be found in Haaretz, where the paper's editorialists suggest that the blockade should only target the shipment of arms to Gaza, not the wholesale embargo in place now. “The naval embargo is justifiable, in terms of the need to prevent the entry of heavy weaponry,” they write. “Yet the economic pressure has not brought about moderation in Hamas' positions, and stopping protesters en route to Gaza will not change the military balance.” That sounds like an awfully simple approach that would go a long way toward transforming Israel's image “as a cruel, occupying power” into one of a country that is merely looking out for the security of its borders and the safety of its citizens. So don't expect it to happen.

Related links:

[Q & A with Amira Hass] Imagine, For a Moment, Life in Gaza

Sailing to Gaza, With Solidarity