I had originally intended to call this "A funny thing happened on the way to Gaza," but decided it sounded too flippant. However, the journey has certainly taken unexpected turns, which deserve some reflection on the Law of Unintended Consequences as it relates to the 2011 Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
Our Free Palestine Movement delegation of Ambassador Sam Hart, Dominican Sister Patricia Chaffee, USS Liberty veteran Joe Meadors, American Indian Movement spokesperson William "Jimbo" Simmons, FPM coordinator Deppen Webber and I returned to our homes in the U.S. over the course of the last week. It was an honor to share company with these fine representatives of communities in the U.S., and our voices were heard through numerous interviews, published writings and web postings.
Many people deserve a lot of credit for what went right, and we salute you, the recipients of this newsletter and supporters of the project for the important role you played. Tens of thousands of people were mobilized in dozens of countries to produce a very international undertaking for Palestinian human rights. The contacts and networks created in the year or so of working together will be used to create more and probably bigger projects, just as the contacts from the Gaza Freedom March helped to create the flotillas.
On the face of it, Israel won this round by preventing the boats from leaving Greece. However, it required a major mobilization on their part, which engaged heads of state, government ministers and elected officials in several countries, not the least of which was the United States, itself. As compared to the alternative of a confrontation at sea similar to last year's, it would seem to be an Israeli victory.
However, this is where the unintended consequences begin. First, the very fact that such a high level of mobilization was undertaken raised eyebrows. Why would Israel go to such extreme measures to prevent such an obviously harmless group from sailing to Gaza? What damage could we do?
Second, the heavy-handed techniques applied to the Greek government also did not go unnoticed. The Palestinian issue is very dear to the Greek people, who take pride in their support of Palestinians, and especially in the fact that it was two of their boats that first broke the Gaza blockade in 2008. Ironically, it was George Papandreou himself who made a public show of support for the blockade-busters in 2009 by personally receiving one of them (me) in the run-up to the elections that put him in office. Greeks are deeply embarrassed by their government's complicity with Israel, and angered by Israel's interference in their affairs.
Third, Israel's methods dragged the struggle out over an extended period of time, and continues even now. Last year's encounter, though violent and headline-grabbing, was over quickly. This year's offers new developments on a regular basis, such as the two boats that actually succeeded in leaving Greek ports. (See related story here.)
Finally, this year left the projects with boats still in their possession and a strong motivation to use them. It is not likely that Greece will be able to legally prevent their use indefinitely, so these assets are still at the disposal of the organizers. If a replay of last year's encounter had occurred, Israel would likely have seized the boats and not released them, resulting in a total loss. Now, however, the organizers may reasonably be expected to develop alternate plans.
In fact, alternate plans seem to be spinning as fast as they can be imagined. Two more land convoys are currently on their way, and a million-person non-violent march to Jerusalem is being organized. A challenge by air is still under consideration, though different (and cheaper) than what was previously envisioned. The BDS campaign is gaining rapidly, with the academic and cultural boycott leading the way.
In short, what does not destroy us makes us stronger. These are the methods that abolished slavery, liberated India, Poland and other countries, and ended segregation in the U.S. and apartheid in South Africa. They will continue to be at the disposal of principled and determined people standing up for human rights everywhere.