The ships of fools have arrived in Gaza, giving rise to a massive lack of interest in most places. The Jerusalem Post reports
Speaking from Gaza on Sunday, Ben-Gurion University professor Jeff Halper told The Jerusalem Post that he hoped to cross back into Israel via Erez Crossing on Tuesday, while his colleagues, a group of activists who arrived in Gaza’s port on Saturday, would began a “revolving ferry from Cyprus to Gaza.”
Halper, an articulate former American, has been fighting for the Palestinian cause for decades, aggressively pushing the envelope between dissent and treason. It’s really remarkable that a country which, in Halper’s words is “one of the world’s strongest and most ruthless military powers” hasn’t yet put a bullet in the back of his neck, thrown him into the sea from an aircraft or simply locked him up and thrown away the key. He probably thinks this is because his martyrdom would be embarrassing, but actually it is because Israel is not really all that ruthless.
In any event, even if consorting with the hostile terrorist entity Hamas does not constitute treason — it ought to — Halper has certainly violated multiple laws and should be arrested and prosecuted if he attempts to re-enter Israel (hmm — there’s an idea: don’t let him back).
Asked about criticism from Gaza Palestinians who said that his group brought far less humanitarian supplies with them than was initially expected, Halper dismissed the idea that the group’s only goal was a humanitarian one.
“This trip wasn’t humanitarian,” he said. “It was political. The point was to break the siege and change Israeli policy in Gaza. It wasn’t a one-time thing. We are going to continue bringing boats into Gaza, and those will have humanitarian assistance on board.” Halper said that the first two boats brought small quantities of humanitarian supplies, including hearing aids to be distributed at a Gaza hospital, as to not arrive empty-handed. But the boats, he said, would have to keep coming in.
Quite ironic that the Palestinians complained that the boat was loaded with ‘activists’ rather than supplies! Of course, they really have a surfeit of ‘activists’, and especially don’t need ones who, while they are prepared to applaud murderous violence when committed by Palestinians, aren’t much good for firing rockets or sniping themselves.
In any event, Halper is correct that the trip was entirely political. From an economic point of view, the boats would be a highly expensive way to transport supplies and people into or out of Gaza, compared to the massive subterranean infrastructure underneath the Egyptian border.
Reading the self-important prose of the activists, especially the fulsome Lauren Booth has been illuminating. Here’s a photo of one of them expressing her love for her Palestinian brothers and sisters. As the saying goes, it’s worth a thousand words.
Update [26 Aug 1439 PDT]: Halper has been arrested trying to cross into Israel.
A spokeswoman for protesters who defied a blockade of Gaza by entering by sea said one was arrested after returning to Israel by land. Angela Godfrey-Goldstein said that Jeff Halper, an Israeli citizen, was detained by police after he passed through the Erez crossing. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Halper was taken to a police station in southern Israel Tuesday. — Jerusalem Post
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