Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to stop the International Freedom Flotilla ll from sailing to Gaza in May. He claims that the Flotilla has been infiltrated by "radical Islamists bent on violence." He also claims that the ships will be used to attempt to smuggle weapons into Gaza. These ludicrous claims only further illuminate the desperate nature of the Zionist agenda to portray Israel as victim.

This poem is called, "in memory of the nine brave, courageous peace activists whose lives were stolen by murderous war criminals who spin lies, black out independent media, violate international law repeatedly! repeatedly! yes, this is for them...in memory of the nine brave, courageous peace activists who were murdered by Israeli soldiers, in the name of TRUTH."

as long as the israeli lunatics
float down to deck
guns blazing like a bad scene in a low budget spaghetti western
or a disney kids' movie

as long as conventions and international laws
mean no more than the toilet paper i use every morning

for as long as democracy rhymes with hypocracy

Refusing to be Enemies:  Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation By Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, 2010. Ithhaca Press, UK. $69.95 hardcover

Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta will be in London on May 3, 2010, 7pm at King's University College to speak about her book. 

Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta's new book offers us a compelling invitation to consider non-violent activism as a path to peaceful resolution in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In a series of interviews, essays and commentaries, and with contributions from notable peace activists such as Ghassan Andoni, Ursula Franklin, Jeff Halper, Starhawk and others, she explores many forms of creative non-violence and its powerful effects.

So as I settle back into my comfortable life in Canada,  I am resigned, at least for the moment, to that frustrated, incapacitated feeling of sitting in my living room, hearing about airstrikes by Israel against Gaza, shattered windows in houses of innocents, and threats of war.  At least when we were in Cairo, even though we weren't allowed to enter Gaza, we felt like we were doing something.  Here at home, with a prorogued, inaccessible government and mainstream media that is choking on its own vomit, I turn to music and poetry and memories to help make sense of things.

in her provocative way
she fills the space
with ferocity
rendered gentle by her
beauty
do not be fooled
for when she speaks

this,
the

great

mother

she does so
from the earthy depths
of fire
don't look back
lest you be scorched
engulfed
only forward
complexity in
simplicity
the sacred womb

tomb

erupts,
convulses

stop
killing
the

children

stop
killing
the

babies

she calls
on her
earthly sisters
she calls
on her
earthly daughters
whose ears
are tuned
whose eyes
are open

eyes wide open
drawing it in
surge of light

There are many events and memories of my time in Cairo that are etched in my mind, and I want to say how grateful I am to all the people who supported me and donated to our cause that allowed me, and ten other Londoners to have this incredible experience.  It has been said before, but I am deeply saddened that we were not permitted to enter Gaza.  My western born and trained mind does not often allow for the possibility of "What if the answer is NO".  My usual response is (expletives deleted), "Well, how do we turn that into a YES".  And then we do just that.  Not so in Cairo.  We were detained, coralled, subdued and beaten.  But only for a week.  The Egyptian people, as it became so clear, live in constant fear of a police state.

The Gaza Freedom March delegation in Egypt has taken over Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo in front of the Egyptian Museum! We began marching from the Egyptian Museum and blocked off the streets. Riot police was on the scene IMMEDIATELY and was very violent with our peaceful, non-violent protesters! They have cordoned us off onto the sidewalk right in the middle of the square and we are making a huge scene! We're on live news coverage from Al-Jazeera, PressTV, Reuters, AFP, etc. We're here with our packed bags, sleeping bags, and plan on staying here until they release us...we are under siege in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo!! Written by Sarah Mahmoud

under hazy Cairo sky
new moon begging for its birth
racing pulse of this chaotic city
carries me on its wing
inviting the dance of space
opportunity and restriction
possibility and denial
rising tensions flow with the Nile
dance of life and dance of death
hold hands, lock gaze
the privilege of the few
raise voices for the many
yet the echos of their song enveloped in cacophony
what are the notes?
hold on, dear Gaza
under the filmy light
on the skin
of the new moon
another song
another dance

Things are happening fast here, and we are all thinking on our feet.  We decided, after receiving an unfavourable response from the UN in Cairo, that we would leave their property on our own accord, rather than risk detention and deportation when there are other actions we could take.  It became clear that the police force was going to become more and more determined to enclose us.  We were able to leave peacefully, however 11 remain at this moment, peacefully and determinedly occupying the square in front of the building. 

As Gaza Freedom Marchers continue to push the Egyptian Government to allow us to leave Cairo for El Arish, they are beginning to push back. This morning at 7am Freedom Marchers met at the garage where we were expecting to board buses headed to El Arish. Instead we were met by a large group of soldiers who turned every bus and taxi away. Until we reached a large crowd, the authorities were forceful, pushing peaceful demonstrators and trying to prevent the filming of the situation.