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Gaza Freedom March

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Gaza Freedom March was a plan for a political march, intended to be non-violent, in 2009 to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip. The march planned to depart on 31 December from Izbet Abed Rabbo, an area devastated during Operation Cast Lead, and head towards Erez, the crossing point to Israel at the northern end of the Gaza Strip. This march was intended to be one year after the Israeli Assault on Gaza which saw over 1,400 Palestinian casualties. The BDS movement stated that the march itself was “inspired by decades of nonviolent Palestinian resistance from the mass popular uprisings of the first Intifada to the West Bank villagers currently resisting the land grab of Israel’s annexationist wall.”

More than 1350 people from 42 countries around the world were planning to join Palestinians in the march, among them Medea Benjamin, Alice Walker, Ronnie Kasrils, Alima Boumediene-Thiery, Hedy Epstein, Yusif Barakat, Roger Waters, Starhawk, Louie Vitale, and Ann Wright. However, the Egyptian authorities disallowed the protest, and the march could not take place as planned. The march drew inspiration from various other campaigns such as Free Gaza Movement and Viva Palestina.

Endorsers and participants

Endorsers of the march included Howard Zinn, Gore Vidal, Arun Gandhi, Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky. Norman Finkelstein, who is a controversial figure among many as he opposed BDS but is an avid supporter of Palestinians,was an initial supporter, but later withdrew his endorsement saying that the new statement of context for the march brought in too many contentious issues. Berkeley student organizer Ali Glenesk coordinated student outreach for the march, and over 100 students planned to participate.

Luisa Morgantini, Alima Boumediene-Thiery, Duraid Lahham and Walden Bello also planned to participate in the Gaza Freedom March. Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor, remarked on the planned day of the march that “there comes a time in one’s life when maybe one needs to do more than just talk (in order to) to change the opinion of the Egyptian government so that they will let go to Gaza.” There were to be an estimated 50,000 Palestinians that were going to participate in the march. BDS, the pro-Palestinian organization, made an official call for the march in late October of 2009 and called the blockade of Gaza “a flagrant violation of international law” and also stated that the march’s purpose was to push Egypt to lift the siege on Gaza and for Israel to end its decades-long blockage on the region. Contrary to coverage of the Gaza Freedom March in the Arab world, coverage was minimal in the United States and other western countries.

Plans for the march

The march had many obstacles from the beginning, but the ideas that were planned were substantial. According to the Gaza Freedom March website, the march was supposed to, “…feature hip hop music (including a song written especially for the march) and commentary on the impact of the siege by farmers, fishermen, merchants and others. Upon reaching Erez crossing, balloons, kites and/or flags will be flown to express solidarity with Palestinians and Israeli peace activists on the other side.” The march's goal was to bring attention to the horrific attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. Other endorsing groups included American Friends Service Committee, Meta Peace Team, and Palestinian unions who all planned on meeting together in Cairo. Approximately 1400 people planned to protest until Egypt denied entry to Gaza following pressure from the United States and Israel. This blockade continues to this day. However, Egypt did allow 100 protesters to enter Gaza.

Entry to Gaza denied by Egyptian authorities

On December 20, 2009, the Egyptian government announced that it will not allow anyone to cross into Gaza from Egypt, effectively banning the march. The government issued a warning that anyone attempting to cross at Rafah will be, "dealt with by the law."

The more than 1,300 internationals in the delegation intending to go to Gaza had asked that Egypt reconsider its ban, which included disallowing the Gaza Freedom March from delivering hundreds of tonnes of aid. The aid, which included specialised medical equipment and powdered milk for babies, sat in Aqaba, a Jordanian port town, awaiting Egyptian permission to enter Egypt.

References

  1. The Siege on Gaza Continues Archived 2009-11-20 at the Wayback Machine, 19-10-2009, Nadia Hijab, Institute for Palestine Studies.
  2. Palestinians organize for the Gaza Freedom March, 30-11-2009, Rami Almaghari, The Electronic Intifada.
  3. "Egypt Denies Gaza Freedom March Access to Border, Hundreds Protest in Cairo". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  4. "Gaza Freedom March!". BDS Movement. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  5. Gaza protest planned on Cast Lead anniversary, 05-12-2009, Andrew Bossone, Al-Masry Al-Youm.
  6. "Look Who's Going". Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
  7. Elderly Refugee to Join Gaza March, 14-12-2009, Maan News
  8. "ENDORSERS".
  9. Smith, Jordan Michael (2015-07-08). "An Unpopular Man". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  10. Why I resigned from the Gaza Freedom March coalition Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, Norman Finkelstein.
  11. "gazafreedommarch.org".
  12. PRESS CONFERENCE ON HUMANITARIAN MATTERS IN GAZA STRIP December 17th 2009, Department of Public Information of UN • News and Media Division • New York
  13. "Egypt Denies Gaza Freedom March Access to Border, Hundreds Protest in Cairo". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  14. "Gaza Freedom March Blocked | Solidarity". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  15. "Gaza Freedom March!". BDS Movement. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  16. December 25, Eric Stoner; 2009 (2009-12-25). "Gaza Freedom March needs your help". Waging Nonviolence. Retrieved 2022-03-02. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. "Protesters rally to end economic blockade of Gaza - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  18. "To Gaza and Beyond: Reflections on the Gaza Freedom March". CODEPINK - Women for Peace. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  19. Walt, Stephen M. "Have you heard about the 'Gaza Freedom March?' Probably not". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  20. El-Naggar, Mona (2009-12-30). "Protesters Gather in Cairo for March to Gaza". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  21. "Egypt bans a protest march into Gaza". BBC. December 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  22. Layelle Saad (December 26, 2009). "Pressure grows to end Gaza siege". Gulf News. Retrieved 2009-12-26.

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