Letter from Aid Workers in Gaza

Well, you know that Israel pulled out of Gaza a couple years ago but has since blockaded them, so the people receive very few medical supplies, are not allowed to leave, may not fish in their own waters without being shot at, may not get medical attention by leaving even if they are in dire condition, among other things. So basically Israel is slowly strangling the people. Half of Gazans are children. Israel would not even allow three Fulbright Scholars to leave to study in this country, so some internationals, including my friend Hedy Epstein, and also good Jeff Halper--both righteous Jews--planned to go with others on a small boat from Cyprus to Gaza taking medical supplies and braving the threats by the Israeli military (which did not attack their boat or the two subsequent small boats of internationals). Hedy, who is in her eighties, fainted in the heat on Cyprus so could not go on the boat and was very disappointed. So anyhow, that's just to show how restricted the people of Gaza are--they are in a big outdoor prison with few supplies, hardly any fuel, and scarce food.

 

A few people set off rockets that occasionally find a target--they are not guided rockets and the people who fire them are basically guessing how to aim them. It may sometimes be Hamas members who set off the rockets but more likely fringe groups. The time of the truce ended, and Hamas foolishly let it run out because Israel was not allowing food, fuel, or meds in. Hamas made a tactical error, in my view. You might know that Israel helped to found and fund Hamas years ago, and now of course it has a life of its own. They are not necessarily bad people--they are just people who want freedom and are fighting a very powerful nation that is steadily stealing the lands of the people.

We are sending at least $10 million per day to Israel, so most of the world sees us as the same as Israel.