We already knew the Free Gaza tools were in desperate need of money. Just how desperate has been made even clearer.
Just before arriving in the waters of Gaza, an Israeli naval gunboat approached, cutting across the bow of the boat, then falling back and tracking it for about an hour. Finally, the gunboat radioed the DIGNITY and asked who they were and where they were going.
After Huwaida Arraf responded, the gunboat asked for the passenger list. “Our passengers are listed on our Free Gaza website for everyone to see,” replied Ms. Arraf, “You’re welcome to visit it any time. And… while you’re there, feel free to make a donation.”
After a pause, then a laugh, the voice on the other end said, “Have a nice day” and left the DIGNITY to glide into the port of Gaza to cheering crowds and a packed agenda for the Parliamentarians.
The sad thing is, she probably wasn’t joking.
Incidentally, the Free Gaza mailing list put out a mail with a different version of the exchange.
At 8:000 am Gaza time, an Israeli patrol boat made contact with the DIGNITY. They had been following the boat for about an hour prior to contacting them
They requested a list of passengers on board.
DIGNITY answered “You’re welcome to go to our website, freegaza.org. We have the entire list and biographies of the passengers there.” Huwaida then added, “Once you are at our website, please make a donation.”
The answer from the the warship was “ha, ha, ha, ha.”
Not that we should be surprised by Free Gaza tools being loose with the facts.
