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Free Gaza Movement (FGM)

Website:

freegaza.org
Type:

Activist group
Formation:

2006
Co-Founders:

Huwaida Arraf

Greta Berlin

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Free Gaza Movement (FGM) is a coalition of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists and organizations founded in 2006 that is best known for conducting several voyages from Greece to Gaza from 2008 to 2011 in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. FGM worked closely with several groups to organize the several trips, most notably the International Solidarity Movement and Insani Yardim Vakfi (the Turkish Relief Foundation, or IHH), a pro-Hamas Turkish charity. 1 2 3

The Free Gaza Movement’s May 2010 sailing expedition to Gaza on the Mavi Marmara boat ended with 10 people dead and 60 injured according to FGM, and as many as 19 people dead according to Al-Jazeera, after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers boarded the ship and a FGM activist allegedly attacked an IDF soldier. 1 4

Several prominent individuals endorsed the Free Gaza Movement, including radical-left academic Noam Chomsky and the late South African anti-apartheid clergyman Desmond Tutu, and several others were aboard the various boats that made the journey to Gaza, including former United States Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Northern Irish peace activist Mairead Maguire. 5 6

Since its most recent voyage in 2011, FGM and its members mostly engage in pro-Palestinian activism from the United States, including through publishing anti-Israel articles and speeches. 7 FGM made plans to send another flotilla envoy to Gaza with humanitarian aid and medical supplies in April 2024, but the ships never embarked on their mission. 8 9

Voyages to Gaza

August 2008

On August 23, 2008, pro-Palestinian activists from 17 different countries sailed from Cyprus to Gaza on two small wooden boats, the FREE GAZA and the LIBERTY. 10  The trip was organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Many of ISM’s members had been barred from entering Israel for security reasons. According to the FGM’s website, the group intended for the boat to cross the Israeli-declared “special security zone” to deliver hearing aids to a Palestinian charity as a form of humanitarian aid. Israel-based left-wing newspaper Haaretz reported that the organizers of the voyage were attempting to provoke a clash with the navy that would end with arrests. A spokesman for FGM said, “We hope that the Israeli government will have some wisdom. To drag us in and arrest us and say somehow we are a danger is absurd.” 11 12

FGM originally planned to depart from Piraeus on August 1, 2008; stop at several Greek islands; and then sail from Cyprus to Gaza on August 5. Cypriot officials expressed concern about the boat departing from their shores but said they could not prevent it. Israel’s Foreign Ministry offered to deliver the humanitarian aid by way of a land crossing under Israeli control. FGM rejected the offer. 3 13 11

On August 23 the two boats arrived in Gaza carrying 46 peace activists including four Israeli citizens. The Israeli Navy did not stop them, but both boats had great technical difficulty with their communications, a problem they blamed on Israel which they claimed jammed their communication systems to prevent them from getting to Gaza. They delivered 200 hearing aids for Gaza children and 5,000 balloons. 3 14 13

When the boats departed from Gaza, they took seven Palestinians, including a teenage boy who had supposedly lost a leg to an Israeli tank shell. The boats had no problem returning to Cyprus. 3

Israeli citizen Jeff Halper did not return to Cyprus on the boats but traveled into Israel by the Erez crossing. He was arrested and told he would be prosecuted for breaking Israeli law that forbade its citizens from entering the Gaza Strip. 15 A spokeswoman for FGM claimed that Israel’s foreign and interior ministries had granted the boats permission to land in Gaza, and therefore believed that the activists were in Gaza legally. 16  Halper was a 2006 candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for co-founding the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. 3

Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, was refused permission to cross from Gaza into both Egypt and Israel after her arrival. Four weeks later, she was given permission to cross at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt. 17

October 2008

The second sailing expedition to Gaza occurred in late October, with the movement’s yacht Dignity arriving at a Gaza port on October 29. The ship carried 26 activists and medical supplies. Although Israeli officials initially announced that they would stop the ship, they allowed the ship to enter Gaza. Among the passengers were Northern Irish peace activist Mairead Maguire and Palestinian Legislative Council member and Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) Secretary General Mustafa Barghouti. 18 19 In July 2009, four citizens of the United Kingdom who had decided to stay in Gaza were turned away at both the Israeli and Egyptian border crossings over a period of several weeks when they attempted to leave. 20 21

December 2008 and February 2009

The Free Gaza Movement attempted to reach Gaza twice during the 2008 to 2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. On December 29, 2008, Dignity set sail from Cyprus, attempting to deliver medical supplies to Gaza residents. 22 23 24 Notable passengers included Caoimhe Butterly, former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), journalists from Al-Jazeera and CNN, and three surgeons including Elena Theoharous. The boat was forced to turn back after being intercepted by Israeli naval vessels off the coast of Gaza. According to the FGM, Israeli warships rammed their vessel and then fired machine guns in the water. Israel claimed that the boat had failed to respond to Israeli naval radio messages and was attempting to outmaneuver the warships when the vessels collided. The activists’ damaged boat docked in Lebanon. 25

The Cypriot foreign minister told public radio that his country would lodge a formal protest over the incident. 26 An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman called the allegation of ramming the Dignity “absurd” and denied any intent to damage the boat. The Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast United States called former Rep. McKinney “irresponsible,” and accused her of a “provocation” against Israel that endangered the activists and IDF soldiers. 27

In January, the FGM again attempted to bring activists and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza under a decommissioned Greek ferry called the Arion. The 21 FGM activists abandoned their journey after the ship encountered Israeli warships who warned them to leave the area. 28

On February 3, 2009, another FGM ship was sent to Gaza in coordination with a Lebanese group, the Palestinian National Committee Against the Siege. 27 On February 5, shots were fired and Israeli forces boarded the ship. Al-Jazeera reporter Salam Khoder, who was aboard the ship, claimed “They [the IDF] are pointing guns against us; they are kicking us and beating us. They are threatening our lives.” The ship was then taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. 29

According to Haaretz, the IDF soldiers found approximately 150 bottles of mineral water and some food and medicine on board, in addition to 10,000 units of human blood plasma. The IDF found no weapons aboard the ship. 27

June 2009

The Free Gaza Movement returned to Cyprus in March 2009 to begin organizing for the summer sailings. The Arion was renamed Spirit of Humanity and sailed from the port of Larnaca on June 29. The 21 activists on board again included former Rep. McKinney and Maguire. Among the six journalists were two from Al-Jazeera and documentary maker Adam Shapiro. They were heading toward Gaza with medical supplies and a load of construction materials. 30 6

On June 30, the Israeli Navy commandeered the vessel off the coast of Gaza. The Israeli military later issued a statement saying the boat had attempted to break a blockade of Gaza and was forced to sail to an Israeli port after ignoring a radio message to stay out of Gaza waters. The Spirit of Humanity was towed to Ashdod and the crew was detained pending deportation proceedings. After a security check of the humanitarian supplies, Israeli officials agreed to deliver them to Gaza by ground. 31

Greta Berlin, a representative of the FGM in Cyprus, claimed, “We are outraged, they just stole our boat and kidnapped our people.” Israeli officials blame the group for the controversy, saying they were searching for confrontation to attract publicity. 32 33 34 35

Two additional Israeli activists were released the next day. 36 On July 3, five Bahraini activists were deported. 37 A delegation from Bahrain visited Israel in an official capacity for the first time to accompany the deportees, although officials said there was no other significance to the visit. 38

Former Rep. McKinney and the other activists refused to sign a document admitting they violated Israel’s blockade which delayed their release. Maguire claimed that “deportation orders aren’t appropriate for us, as we were taken to Israel against our will.” 39 The remaining activists were processed and released by July 8. 40 41 42

May 2010

Free Gaza Movement and Insani Yardim Vakfi (the Turkish Relief Foundation, or IHH), a pro-Hamas Turkish charity, partnered to send multiple ships to the Gaza Strip in May 2010. Under the coordination of the FGM, numerous human rights organizations, including the Perdana Global Peace Organization from Malaysia, the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza, and the Swedish and Greek Boat to Gaza initiatives sent three cargo ships loaded with reconstruction, medical, and educational supplies. Multiple passenger boats with over 600 people on board accompanied the cargo ships. Passengers included Members of Parliament from around the world, United Nations personnel, human rights and trade union activists, and journalists. 43 44

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed that “these people are not supporting the Palestinians and they are not even supporting humanitarian causes. They are engaged in only one thing, and that is to create provocations and to collaborate with Hamas propaganda.” 44

The family of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit offered the organizers of the flotilla full support provided that “in addition to their demand that Israel lift its blockade they will urge Hamas to allow the soldier to receive letters and food packages from his family and allow international organizations to visit him.” According to attorney Nick Kaufman, who approached the FGM on behalf of the kidnapped soldier’s family, the offer was refused. 45 46 The group strongly denied this, saying they had always called for the release of all prisoners, including Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and that they had accepted Kaufman’s request but had not heard back from him. 47

On May 27, 2010, the Jerusalem Post reported that participants included Mahmad Tzoalha and Sahar Albirawi, whom it called Hamas activists, although neither man was on any of the passenger manifests, as well as Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. 48 Also approximately 700 pro-Palestinian activists were on the boats, including Maguire, European legislators, and Hedy Epstein, a 85-year old Holocaust survivor. 49

The six-ship flotilla began on May 30, 2010. Before dawn the following morning, the vessels encountered the Israeli navy in international waters off the coast of Gaza. 50 Al-Jazeera satellite channel reported by telephone from the Turkish ship leading the flotilla that Israeli navy forces fired at the Mavi Marmara ship and boarded it. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the soldiers were attacked with knives and clubs as they boarded and that soldiers opened fire after a protester grabbed a weapon from one of the IDF soldiers and fired on one or more of them. 51 52

Organizers of the flotilla said the troops opened fire as soon as they stormed the ships. The FGM claimed that 10 people were killed and over 60 wounded in the incident, although Al-Jazeera reported at least 19 people were killed. 49 53 1 In August, the Israeli military arrested several Israeli soldiers, accusing them of selling laptops that belonged to the passengers. 54 55

July 2011

The Free Gaza Movement sent another flotilla to Gaza in July 2011. By late June, the ten boats had gathered in Greece and the activists were preparing to set sail. On July 1, however, the Greek government issued an order prohibiting the departure of ships to the “maritime area” of Gaza. The statement warned that “appropriate measures” would be taken to ensure the enforcement of the order. Despite lacking permission, several of the boats tried to depart from Greece, including the Canadian boat named Tahrir and the U.S. boat The Audacity of Hope. The boats were quickly intercepted by Greek authorities and brought back to port and the captain of the U.S. boat was arrested and detained for several days for defying the order. This second flotilla received support from several anti-Israel groups and came with a warning from FGM co-founder Huwaida Arraf who claimed the flotilla would be “an escalation” from its May predecessor. However, this second “Freedom Flotilla” did not take place. 56

Plans for 2024 Flotilla

In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023, the Free Gaza Movement made plans for a new flotilla to sail to Gaza to deliver aid and medical supplies to Gaza. Although plans were made for an April 2024 departure, due to delays, the flotilla never went to Gaza. 8 9

Antisemitic Statements

In October 2012, Free Gaza Movement co-founder Greta Berlin was accused of being antisemitic following a controversial post that originated from her Facebook account, and was subsequently published under the FGM Facebook page. The post said that “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews” and contained a link to a video and a speech by Eustace Mullins that asserted that Zionists were responsible for the Holocaust and were supporters of Adolf Hitler’s Nzai regime. 57 58 FGM later deleted the tweet and Berlin apologized for the post. She claimed to have “shared it without watching it.” 59 57

International Solidarity Movement (ISM)

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is an anti-Israel group founded in 2001 and devoted to “resisting the long-entrenched and systematic oppression and dispossession” of Palestinians and to opposing the Israeli occupation of the disputed Palestinian territory through non-violent direct action. 60 The ISM also helped organize several Free Gaza Movement sailing expeditions to Gaza. 2

ISM and FGM co-founder Ghassan Andoni has allegedly been involved in anti-Israel riots. 61 Richard David Hupper, who was “connected” with ISM, pled guilty and was sentenced to prison in 2008 for funding terrorism after being accused of donating roughly $20,000 to Hamas. 62 63

Leadership

Huwaida Arraf co-founded the International Solidarity Movement in addition to the Free Gaza Movement. She was a civil-rights attorney for University of Michigan students who faced disciplinary measures following a November 2023 sit-in, at which police arrested 40 students. Arraf also ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in 2022 for the U.S. Congress. 64 65

Greta Berlin co-founded the Free Gaza Movement. She is listed on FGM’s website as the board secretary. She has a master’s degree in theatre and journalism and a bachelor’s degree in English and theatre. She was on the first voyage in August 2008 and helped run the next four voyages, all of which successfully entered Gaza in 2008. She is the co-editor and co-author of the book Freedom Sailors. 5

Noam Chomsky is listed as a member of the FGM’s Board of Advisors. Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as one of the fathers of modern linguistics. Since the 1960s, he has become known more widely as a socialist intellectual and radical-left activist. 5

References

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