A British-flagged ship charted by an international coalition of Jewish activists to break the sea blockade of Gaza has been peacefully intercepted by Israel's Navy. The Irene had left Cyprus on Sunday and was carrying ten Jewish passengers and crew from Britain, Germany, Israel and the United States. Two British journalists were also on board, according to a news release issued by the organizers. The boat's cargo included children's toys, musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets and prosthetic limbs, the organizers said. They planned to deliver the goods to the Gaza Mental Health Program. Richard Kuper of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, speaking from London, said the ship's mission was non-violent. In the group's statement, he said the mission was meant to show that "Israeli government policies are not supported by all Jews."
Among the passengers were Holocaust survivor Reuven Moskovitz, 82, of Neve Shalom, Israel; Rami Elhanan, of Israel, who lost a daughter to a suicide bombing in 1997 and is a founding member of the Bereaved Families Circle of Israelis and Palestinians; Caron Angier of Britain, biographer of the Auschwitz survivor and author Primo Levi; and Lilian Rosengarten of the United States, who was a refugee from Nazi Germany.
Israel's military said in a statement on Tuesday: "IDF naval forces recently boarded the yacht 'Irene', and it is currently being led to the Ashdod seaport along with its passengers." The statement called the ship a "provocation yacht". IDF chief spokesman Avi Benayahu was quoted by 'Haaretz' as saying that the fact that "naval forces and fighters are being diverted from our main mission" to "a surreal assignment" of intercepting a boatload of activists was regrettable. "Its entire intention was to generate media attention and (stage) a provocation. This matter is especially regrettable as we are talking about a group of Jews and of Israeli citizens, and even someone who has worn an IDF officer's uniform."
Before boarding the catamaran, the navy commandos transmitted two warnings to the boat, which refused to turn back and sailed further into the blockade area, the IDF said. However, the Israeli activist and former Air Force pilot Yonatan Shapira said that there were "no words to describe what we went through during the takeover." He claimed that the activists, who he said displayed no violence, were met with extreme brutality, adding that the soldiers "just jumped us, and hit us. I was hit with a taser gun."
