1146944050156_0

In addition to close to 100 organizations, a growing number of prominent individuals have endorsed the Canadian Boat to Gaza (CBG), including filmmakers John Greyson and Magnus Isacsson, Quebec Solidaire politician Amir Khadir, renown U.S. dissident Noam Chomsky and Mavi Marmara survivors Farooq Burney and Rifat Audeh.

One of the latest to sign up is John Pilger, the veteran journalist and documentary filmmaker. Pilger speaks and writes about the Middle East with great authority. His documentary Palestine Is Still the Issue remains a valuable primer on the decades-long occupation. The film can be viewed in full on youtube. Pilger underlined the political importance of the CBG project:

“The Canadian Boat to Gaza is a vital exercise. Yes, it’s an act of principle and worth our support for that alone. But it’s, above all, needed by Gazans who depend on the outside world for the sustenance of their will and spirit to go on. The Canadian Boat to Gaza also begins to reclaim the reputation of a nation so betrayed by its political class.”

The vital work continues in communities right across the country. The CBG will be part of ‘Freedom Flotilla 2’, an international undertaking that plans to sail to Gaza with over 15 boats in Spring 2011. In the meantime, there are a series of fundraising and educational activities planned.

In early November, Victoria activist Kevin Neish – a CBG organizer who was also an eyewitness to the Israeli massacre aboard the Mavi Marmara – will be on a speaking tour to build awareness of the Spring flotilla and support for the Canadian Boat. Neish will have events in Halifax, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Regina, Yellowknife, Edmonton and Vancouver. Check the CBG website for event details as they become available.