As reported earlier (Jewish Tribune, Aug. 19, 2010), Israeli Major Guy Inbar explained that the reason for the cessation of mail delivery was related to security. The Palestinian mail coordinator had been arrested, and 'with the appointment of a new representative on the Palestinian side, the mechanism of the coordination of mail transferring will be active again,' Inbar said two weeks ago. As of last Monday, the publication deadline, the Palestinians had not yet named a replacement, notwithstanding the alleged suffering caused by the cessation of mail delivery.
Nevertheless, Denis Lemelin, the union’s national president, said: 'As postal workers, we know very well that cutting off mail creates suffering and hardship for people who are isolated from their loved ones…. How many more abuses will the people of Gaza have to endure?'
Lemelin’s ongoing anti-Israel activism is well documented. He was asked in an email several days ago whether he had considered the fact that there is currently no mail coordinator on the Palestinian side to alleviate the situation, but received no reply before deadline.
Endorsers of the flotilla initiative include, among others, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)), Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) and Not in Our Name (NION), as well as Arab-Israeli Member of Knesset Haneen Zoabi, listed as a 'Mavi Marmara survivor.'
(The Knesset House Committee recently voted 7-1 to strip Zoabi of her Parliamentary rights because of activities they perceived as treasonous, such as her participation in the Free Gaza flotilla, although the move was blocked by the Knesset speaker.)
The CUPW site directs viewers to 'Canada Boat Gaza,' which, in partnership with the Free Gaza Movement, is seeking “to raise $300,000 (cost of boat and crew, not including aid to carry to Gaza) over the course of the coming couple of months. We need to approach Canadian public figures to be on the boat.”
Donors are advised to make out a cheque to Alternatives [Action and Communication Network for International Development], one of the organizations whose application for renewed funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was rejected last December.
In July, Toronto resident Chana Poizner told the Jewish Tribune she received in her mailbox a seemingly humanitarian appeal from Alternatives, seeking pledges to “help Gaza’s children grow up in peace” (see Jewish Tribune, July 15, 2010)." (source)
