AIRFLOTILLA ----Welcome in Palestine - Willkommen in Palästina

On July 8th we are flying for Palestinian freedom -- and for our own...

Photo: occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com

(BERLIN, Germany) - Hundreds of internationals on their way to visit Palestinians in Gaza have been prevented from departing from the ports in Greece. However, we hope that on July 8th, 2011, hundreds of others of us from many countries will succeed in reaching Palestine by flying to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. We have been invited by some forty Palestinian organizations to "Welcome to Palestine," a week of activities in  Palestine. It should be a wonderful visit, but most of us are frankly a bit scared. This is because of one decision we've all made: to tell the truth that our plan is to visit Palestine. It should be so simple, shouldn't it?  But it is not, because Israel controls all access to Palestine -- by air, and by land, as well as by sea.

Even the website of the U.S. State Department warns of "prolonged questioning and thorough searches by Israeli authorities upon entry or departure," of particularly "probing questioning" visited upon "U.S. citizens whom Israeli authorities suspect of being of Arab, Middle Eastern, or Muslim origin," who are frequently denied entry. This is also true of visitors who are suspected to sympathize with Palestinians. The U.S. and the European countries refuse to protect their own citizens against these abuses by Israeli authorities.

The draconian and discriminating procedures at the borders of Israel have but one aim: to further isolate Palestinians and reinforce their inferior status; to trap them, away from any outside witnesses, in an increasingly constrictive maze of bantustans, separated by checkpoints and walls.  By failing to insist that Israel allow travel to Palestine, our western governments support Israel's apartheid policies. In fact, occupied territory is not sovereign territory and Israel’s authority over the occupied Palestinian territories is subject to international humanitarian law. This authority does not include the right to arbitrarily deny entry of foreign passport holders wishing to visit, reside, or work in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT -- See http://www.righttoenter.ps/etemplate.php?id=146.)

We are flying to Ben Gurion on July 8th to visit friends in Palestine, and we insist that our own governments support us in doing so. Supporting our visit to Palestine will be one small step towards bringing about the freedom of movement for all the peoples of Israel/Palestine that is essential for peace and justice in the Middle East.

Press Contacts:

PALESTINE: Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, mazin@qumsiyeh.org, +972(0)598939532
JERUSALEM: Sergio Yahni, sergioyahni@gmail.com, +972(0)526375032
FRANCE:  Nicolas Shahshahani, bienvenuepalestine@orange.fr
GERMANY: Sophia Deeg,  sophia_deeg@yahoo.de, +49(0)88 007761, +49(0)1799878414                                                
UK: Sofiah MacLeod, secretary@scottishpsc.org.uk,+44(0)7931 200 36100, +44(0)131 620 0052
USA: Karin Pally, myizzy@gmail.com or kpally@earthlink.net, +1 310-399-1921


English articles and stories on the event
http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/06/challenging-racism-by-israelis-on-every-front/
http://www.alternet.org/news/151491/activists_challenge_israel's_other_blockade_by_air


Other related websites/links:
http://www.righttoenter.ps
http://www.palestinejn.org
http://bienvenuepalestine.com (French and English)
http://www.kopi-online.de/8juli2011/ (German)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Original-Nachricht --------
Betreff: Gush Shalom: Israeli Minister of Internal Security defames Tel Aviv Airport fly-in activists - they
are no "hooligans"!
Datum: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 19:21:24 +0300
Von: Adam Keller
An: intl@mailman.gushshalom.org

July 7, 2011

To: The Minister of Internal Security, Yitzhak Aharonowitz

Dear Sir,

According to reports in the media, the Prime Minister has entrusted you with handling what is known as the "Fly-In," i.e. hundreds of peace activists from abroad who are scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion Airport this Friday. You have been quoted as saying that you consider these people to be 'law-breaking hooligans,' without your having bothered to check or find out who they are and what are their intentions. It has also been published that you intend to treat them with brute force, and to this end to fill Ben-Gurion Airport with thousands of police officers. These violent plans may cause a serious and completely avoidable damage to the State of Israel.

I wish to clarify the facts. Several months ago, Palestinian civil society organizations sent an invitation to peace activists around the world to visit the West Bank over the week of July 8-16. In the framework of the visit, which is called Welcome to Palestine, the visitors from abroad are invited to stay in the homes of Palestinian families and to take part in various cultural activities such as planting olive trees in villages in the Ramallah area; visiting the Freedom Theater in Jenin whose director, Juliano Mer, was murdered several months ago; and visiting the community center in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. In no way or form is any violent or provocative action planned. Indeed, the Palestinians have encouraged their visitors to come as entire families with their children, and many of them intend to do so.

The first people to accept the Palestinian invitation were 350 peace activists from France, who have been joined over the last few months by activists from the USA, the UK, Germany, Italy and Belgium, totaling about 600 people – many of them, as stated, entire families including their children.

If the Palestinians had an airport of their own, the activists would have preferred to land at such an airport. However, at present it is only possible to reach the Palestinian Territories by way of Israel, and the activists purchased, at their own expense, tickets for flights landing at Ben-Gurion Airport. They have no intention of creating chaos at the airport, and their only intention is to pass through passport control, like any other traveler, and be on their way.

In many cases over the past years, visitors who have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport and stated their intention to travel to the Palestinian Territories were not allowed to enter and were summarily deported. As the result, such travelers feel that they are forced to use lies and deceit and to conceal the true purpose of their visit from the Israeli authorities. The people who are coming to Israel this Friday do not intend to do that. Each and every one of them intends to act honestly and sincerely and to clearly state that the purpose of their visit is to stay with Palestinians. Moreover, the participants met early this week with representatives of the French Foreign Ministry, and asked them to relay the purpose of their visit to the Government of Israel – evidently, that information has not reached you.

Whatever happens at Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday is entirely in your hands, Mr. Minister. If the peace activists are allowed to pass through passport control and depart for their destination, it will be just another routine day at the airport. If, on the other hand, you decide to act abusively and violently and to deport no less than 600 people at once, including families with children, there will be severe logistical problems and later, political, diplomatic and public relations problems which might  continue to plague us for a long time to come. It is not yet too late to decide to act wisely.

Sincerely,

Adam Keller, Spokesperson
Gush Shalom

PO Box 3322, Tel-Aviv
Tel. 03-2340749, 03-5565804
Fax: 03-5271108

info@gush-shalom.org

===============================================

Palestinian organizations inviting the activists:

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, mazin@qumsiyeh.org, +972(0)598939532

Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Centre, www.alrowwad-acts.ps

Alternative Information Center www.alternativenews.org

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights:www.badil.org/

Bil’in Popular Resistance Committee www.bilin-village.org

Friends of Freedom and Justice, Bil’in www.bilin-ffj.org

Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign www.stopthewall.org

Holy Land Trust: www.holylandtrust.org

International Solidarity Movement: www.palsolidarity.org

Open Bethlehem: www.openbethlehem.org

Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People www.PCR.PS

Palestine Justice Network www.palestinejn.org

W I L L K O M M E N   I N   P A L Ä S T I N A 

Eine Einladung, das Fly-In und die Gaza Freedom Flotilla live zu begleiten 

am 8. Juli 2011 ab 13 Uhr in der Filmbühne am Steinplatz

Hardenbergstr. 12, Berlin Charlottenburg (U/S Zoo) 
 

Wenn am 8. Juli den ganzen Tag über nach und nach insgesamt rund 500 Menschen aus aller Welt auf dem Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv landen und bei der Passkontrolle wahrheitsgemäß kundtun, dass ihr Reiseziel Palästina ist – so sollte es das Normalste der Welt sein. Wenn zugleich wieder einmal Schiffe mit Zivilisten, Medikamenten und Baumaterial an Bord nach Gaza aufbrechen, sollte auch das keine Zeile wert und Normalität sein.    

Wir wissen aber alle, dass es ein Skandal, eine Provokation und manchmal sogar lebensgefährlich ist, die Blockade- und Apartheidspolitik Israels in Frage zu stellen. Wir wissen, dass Reisende, deren Ziel Palästina ist, häufig an dem israelischen Grenzregime, dem Palästinenserinnen und Palästinenser vollständig unterworfen sind, scheitern – es sei denn, sie verhehlen ihre Absicht, in das Westjordanland oder nach Gaza reisen zu wollen. 

Die Einreisenden aus Frankreich, Belgien, Großbritannien, Kanada, den USA, Deutschland und anderen Ländern, die am 8. Juli in Tel Aviv eintreffen und auf der Normalität ihrer Einreise nach Palästina bestehen werden, genau wie die Schiffe des Free Gaza Movement, die seit 2008 immer wieder die völkerrechtswidrige Blockade des Gazastreifens durchbrechen, bringen eine wesentliche Botschaft: Palästinenserinnen und Palästinenser haben das Recht auf Bewegungsfreiheit, das Recht darauf, ein- und auszureisen, ihre Grenzen zu kontrollieren und als Gäste zu empfangen, wen sie wollen.  

Wir werden am 8. Juli in der Filmbühne eine direkte Verbindung herstellen zu: 

• TeilnehmerInnen an der Initiative „Willkommen in Palästina“, während sie in Tel Aviv (gegen 14 Uhr unserer Zeit) landen und die Passkontrollen passieren. (20 Reisende kommen aus Österreich und Deutschland)
• UnterstützerInnen der Initiative (angefragt ist u.a. Stéphane Hessel)
• PalästinenserInnen und Israelis, die die Gäste aus aller Welt erwarten
• Passagiere der 2. Free Gaza Flotilla, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt möglicherweise trotz aller Blockaden bereits Gaza ansteuern

Das Gaza-Bündnis und die Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden laden Sie/Euch herzlich ein, mit uns zusammen diesen ganz normalen historischen Moment zu erleben. 

Wir danken der Filmbühne für Ihre großzügige Gastfreundschaft und legen den Gästen nahe, mit einem kleinen Obulus, Getränkebestellungen und Verzehr die Unkosten für Raum und Infrastruktur decken zu helfen. 

Kontakt: Sophia Deeg 0179 98 78 414