Kathy Sheetz says she isn’t afraid of what might happen when she sets sail again next week for Gaza. On her last trip she was welcomed by Israeli bullets, but she sees the message as more important than any possible consequences.
Her message, along with the hundreds of other activists who will be sailing to Gaza aboard 10 ships dubbed the Freedom Flotilla 2—Stay Human, is that Israel’s continued occupation of Gaza is unacceptable.
Sheetz, a 65-year-old Richmond resident, has sailed — or attempted to sail — to Gaza every year since 2008, when she and 43 other activists took two fishing boats to the shores of the Gaza. They had room only for themselves and safely arrived in Gaza. She realized the potential to come back with supplies and aid for the people. One necessity she had never thought of: hearing aids for children, some of whom are going deaf from the dropping of bombs.
Last year, the first Freedom Flotilla set sail for Gaza. Sheetz was one of many activists from around the world aboard six ships of the flotilla that were attacked by the Israeli Navy during an early morning raid in international waters.
Soldiers boarded the ships and attacked the unarmed passengers. They fired rubber bullets while a helicopter above the flotilla shot live rounds. In the end, nine activists died.
Still, she’s going back.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Sheetz said. “(Palestinians in Gaza) seem to be paying a price and I think it’s wrong.”
Thirty-six activists, nine journalists, and four crew members will be aboard the American boat when it sets sail from an undisclosed port in Greece. Out at sea, it will meet up with nine other boats carrying activists from around the world. The port and launch date are being kept secret to avoid sabotage attempts by pro-Israeli enemies of the flotilla, said Jane Jewell, a media coordinator for the organization US Boat to Gaza.
The mission of the trip is not only to bring awareness to the situation in Gaza, but also to bring badly needed medical supplies and aid. Two of the ships in the flotilla are devoted to carrying cargo.
The American boat will only carry letters of support, though, in fear of retaliation by the U.S. government for being seen as aiding the terrorist organization Hamas.
All passengers aboard The Audacity of Hope, the name of the American boat, had to sign an awareness document that highlights the inherent dangers of the trip, including the possibility of death.
Henry Norr, 65, first visited Gaza in 2002 and has been to Palestine three times, witnessing injustices and working to spread the word. In 2005 he acted as a copy editor for the International Middle East Media Center, helping to report raids and arrests of activists.
“Everybody knows that there’s some danger,” Norr said. “We like to think that the Israelis will come to their senses.”
This will be the 10th trip made to Gaza since 2008. Of the previous nine, five arrived in Gaza successfully, three of the boats were detained in Israel and last years flotilla was outright attacked.
The Audacity of Hope, a name shared by the American boat and President Obama’s book, could signify the audaciousness of the journey or be a tongue-in-cheek joke, depending on who’s asked.
Both Jewell and Adam Shapiro, an organizer for the Free Gaza Movement, which helped organize the flotilla, felt Obama was just a puppet for Israel who does not have the courage to enact real change.
They said he backed down too easily to pressure from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Obama suggested earlier this year that Israel and Palestine revert to pre-1967 borders in an attempt to bring peace to the region.
The U.S. State Department also recently issued a statement condemning travel to Gaza.
“Previous attempts to enter Gaza by sea have been stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest, and deportation of U.S. Citizens,” said the statement. “The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem are not able to provide consular assistance in Gaza or on the high seas or coastal waters.”
Jewell, summing up the statement, said, “Americans citizens take second place to Israel.”
“They know that their American citizenship isn’t going to help them,” Jewell said of the activists.
Sheetz first found herself in Gaza in 1991 when trying to travel to Tel Aviv, Israel, for a conference. She hoped to rent a car in Rafah, Egypt, a border town with Gaza, but was instead forced onto a bus by an Israeli woman. She ended up in Tel Aviv, but not after wondering about what had happened.
“It was just a very odd experience,” Sheetz said. “I couldn’t describe it.”
Now she’s heading back, again, informed and with a mission.
“It’s not helping Israel,” Sheetz said of the occupation. “If they want security, this is not the way to go about it.”