NEW YORK— The U.S. Boat to Gaza campaign announced earlier
this month that it will send a U.S. flagged boat, “The Audacity of
Hope,” to Gaza in late June as part of the International Freedom Flotilla
II. The passengers on the boat, which will sail from a port in the
Mediterranean, are U.S. citizens from many different backgrounds, ages and
communities across the United States.

Flotilla organizer Jane Hirschmann said, “The Israeli
blockade of Gaza is a clear violation of international human rights and
maritime law. Nearly 1.5 million people in Gaza have been effectively
imprisoned for five years. The blockade is maintained only with the support of
the United States government. That is why it is imperative that it be
confronted nonviolently by American citizens.”

The Audacity of Hope, which will carry a cargo of thousands
of personal letters of friendship and solidarity with people in Gaza, will join
with boats from other countries in an international flotilla headed to Gaza
City.

The Israeli government has attempted to characterize the
flotilla as a risk to the security of Israel because of the possibility it will
carry arms. However, the flotilla participants are fully committed to
non-violence and the tenets of international law, and its cargo is open to
international inspection. Although the seven ships that made up Freedom
Flotilla I last May carried only humanitarian supplies, Israel nonetheless
attacked and confiscated the ships in international waters, killing nine
unarmed passengers, including one American citizen.

Thirty-six members of the House of Representatives recently
sent a letter to the Turkish government urging Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep
Erdogan to stop the departure of the Freedom Flotilla II. The letter states,
“If flotilla organizers carry out their confrontational plans, the
Israelis will have little choice to board the vessels and search for weapons.
We fear violence could erupt…”

Retired U.S. Army Colonel and U.S. Boat to Gaza campaign
organizer Ann Wright said, “This is patently ridiculous The cargoes are
open to international inspection. The passengers are committed to non-violence.
The siege is illegal. But these Members of Congress are more interested in
guaranteeing impunity to Israel than in defending their own constituents who
will be on board the boats. Just as The Freedom Riders of the 1960s had the
right and obligation to confront racism and segregation in the South, we too
are confronting our government’s complicity in Israel’s violation of
international law. We have the right to sail and we will sail.”

The organization is also collecting e-mails at
letterstogaza@gmail.com containing personal messages of solidarity for those
struggling in Gaza. For more info, visit www.ustogaza.org.