Kucinich: Ensure Safety of U.S. Citizens on The Audacity of Hope

In many arenas of human endeavor, there is no plausible way to convince someone through abstract argument that an endeavor that appears to be incredibly difficult is nonetheless not impossible. There's nothing for it but to create an example.

Efforts to get Members of Congress to do anything related in any way to the basic human rights of Palestinians that is not slavishly pro-Likud is a prime example of this phenomenon. Many are convinced -- not without evidence that makes their position seductive -- that it is an immutable law of the universe that all Members of Congress must always express fealty to right-wing views on this topic.

Well, now we have a counterexample. Six Members of Congress have written to Secretary of State Clinton, urging her to do "everything in her power" to work to ensure the safety of the U.S. citizens on board the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope.

The letter was signed by Representatives Dennis Kucinich [OH-10], William Lacy Clay [MO-1], Sam Farr [CA-17], Bob Filner [CA-51], Eleanor Holmes Norton [DC], and Barbara Lee [CA-9]

The actual text of the letter is spectacularly modest. The six Representatives express their concern for the safety of a group of American citizens; urge the Secretary of State to act to protect them (as she is legally obligated to do as part of her job); note that the Israeli government, like any other government, must conform to international law; note that The Audacity of Hope has declared its cargo of letters from Americans to Gazans to be "open to international inspection;" and note the commitment of the passengers on The Audacity of Hope to nonviolence and international law.

In any other arena of contemporary advocacy for peace, getting six Members of Congress to sign on to a letter designed to be spectacularly modest advocacy of basic common sense would not be something to crow about.

But this is not any other arena. The Freedom Flotilla is challenging the Israeli blockade of 1.6 million Gazans, and therefore, in official Washington, the Freedom Flotilla is "radioactive."

These six Representatives deserve a huge round of applause. There is no question that if it were possible to anonymously sign Congressional letters, this letter would have many more signatures. These six Representatives were willing to publicly sign their names to this basic appeal, knowing full well that there is a dedicated and well-financed crew of pro-Likud activists in Washington determined to punish any deviance from the Likud line.

It will be interesting to see how the pro-Likud activists respond to this letter. Because the letter is so reasonable and modest, it puts the pro-Likud activists in a lose-lose situation. If they attack the six Members for expressing concern for the safety of a group of American peace activists, the Likudniks will be exposed as extremists. But if they let the letter pass, then a precedent will be established that six Members of Congress can speak up for basic decency on an issue related to Palestine without anything bad happening to them. And then maybe next time it will be 12 Members of Congress, and after that 20. On the first vote on the Afghanistan war, only Barbara Lee voted no. When the House voted a few weeks ago, only eight Democrats voted for open-ended continuation of the war.

In this way, the Congressional letter is like the Flotilla itself. By doing something so mundane -- bringing humanitarian aid, or in the case of the American boat, letters -- the Flotilla puts the Likud authorities in a lose-lose situation. Either they let our boats pass, in which case they concede that they are not politically invincible, or they stop our boats with force, in which case they expose themselves as extremists.

 

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Comments

[BubbaC33]

12:43 AM on 06/27/2011

The participants in the flotilla forget the reason for the blockade by the Israeli navy. Hamas fires rockets into Israel targeting civilians. There is no facility in Gaza for the manufacture of those rockets, Hamas has to import them from some other nation. The purpose of the blockade is to stop Hamas from obtaining more weapons to use in its war of terror against Israel.
The flotilla is not designed to get humanitarian aid to Gaza. The real message of the flotilla is Jewish lives are unimportant. If Hamas fires rockets into southern Israel and Jewish lives are lost it is an acceptable outcome for the supporters of this flotilla. The people on the ships and the supporters of the flotilla writing here are saying quite plainly we do not care about the people of Israel. We do not care if Jewish lives are lost.
The fact of the matter is we cannot allow a group, Hamas, dedicated to our destruction to hold a portion of our population hostage. The Israeli government has a duty and a responsibility to stop the attacks by Hamas. The supporters of the flotilla are sure to disagee and by doing so they are affirming the idea that the lives of Jews just don't matter. It is a message all of us in Israel have heard before and a message that saddens me.

[eileenflemingWAWA]

04:52 PM on 06/26/2011

It's NOT about bringing in 'humanitarian aid' it is about challenging the powers that be by people of conscience who are holding 'leaders' accountable for INJUSTICE, and the cargo consists of love letters and the crew are people of conscience.

Israel's very statehood was contingent upon upholding the UN UNIVERSAL DECLARATION of HUMAN RIGHTS and as a Member State America is obligated to hold ALL other Member States to it.

"Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law...

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

"Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people..."
http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=107&Itemid=1

[eileenflemingWAWA]

05:24 PM on 06/26/2011

Freedom of Speech doesn't mean jack unless you are speaking truth to power!

Please and thanks to all who phone Hillary to LET OUR PEOPLE GO to Gaza and demand an END to the Occupation of GAZA-PALESTINE!

You can leave a voice message 24/7 for Clinton @ 202-647-6575

PS: The first American Revolution established that we the people of the US have RIGHTS-and Obligations:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all [people] are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable RIGHTS...that, to secure these RIGHTS, governments are instituted among [people] deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the RIGHT of the people to ALTER or to ABOLISH it." -July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence.

[Macready]

07:27 AM on 06/27/2011

excellent blogs eileen . . .1million xs fanned have c alled and signed the petition

[Pashovski]

04:03 PM on 06/26/2011

Free Gaza

Viva Viva Palestina

[Katherine Schock]

04:00 PM on 06/26/2011

Kudos to those 6 members of Congress for asking Secretary of State Clinton to protect the flotilla ship carrying Americans with letters of support to Gaza, and to you, Mr. Naiman for posting about it!

It seems strange to me that the small country of Israel holds such power over our own government, maybe it's because we support them economically and militarily. Quite a few Americans, myself included, would like to see the Palestinian people be able to run their own affairs without being occupied by Israel, and would like for the U.S. to quit arming Israel, which implies agreement with their way of dealing with the Palestinians. I hope the flotilla successfully delivers these letters of support, so that the Palestinians know that not all Americans support the Israeli occupation!

[Poboy]

01:46 PM on 06/26/2011

Not fealty to the right wing, but fealty to a FOREIGN government, namely Israel.

I call on my government to escort this flotilla with American Navy.

And dare Israel to attack it.

[Macready]

07:28 AM on 06/27/2011

excellent blog Poboy . . if only . . . .