Dear all,
Organisers of the flotilla have informed me that all communication has
been lost with the boat 'Rachel Corrie', en route to Gaza with 15(?)
passengers including Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, and
medical supplies. Spotting mechanism, Sat. phones and radio all out of
order/jammed since last night, apparently.
It is unclear where the boat is (probably about 200 miles from Gaza)
and in what direction she is heading. Israeli headlines (Haaretz,
YNet) aired identical items saying that 'the organisers' had decided
to turn back to Ireland but the organisers (from here) say t hey never
decided this or said this. There is a chance that Israeli forces could
take over the boat in complete media/radio silence under the cover of
this misinformation.
May I suggest that you forward this to others, and see if you can get
people to contact parliamentarians, government representatives, voice
concern about the passengers' safety, and ask them to contact their
representatives in Israel. Who knows, perhaps this might avert another
catastrophe.
Best
Miri
Miri Weingarten