8/27: For Gaza...make The Audacity of Hope, a reality!

HELP US SEND A U.S. BOAT TO GAZA!
Join us to support this project and make history!

Be there to support this project and make history!
$25.00 minimum donation

Grace Place (second floor)
637 S. Dearborn, Chicago
7-9 PM
***Please arrive before 7PM***

Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee and the U.S. Boat to Gaza Chicago Network

Featured speaker: Fatima Mohammadi, survivor of the Israeli assault on the Mavi Marmara.

Fatima Mohammadi, an Iranian-born American citizen, lawyer and activist, whose credits include being a National Organizer for Viva Palestina USA, a public defender, and a former human rights official in Idaho, was aboard the Mavi Marmara when the Israeli commando attack began and will give her eyewitness account of what happened on May 31, 2010.

US BOAT TO GAZA

In the aftermath of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla attack, the international community has become more critical of Israel's blockade of Gaza. Despite assuaging statements from Israeli officials, the siege continues and few supplies and freedoms are granted to the Gazan people. The open-air prison, blockaded by land and sea, is in dire need of materials to rebuild since the month long 2009 assault on the Gaza Strip.

We are planning to launch a U.S. boat to Gaza in September or October of this year, which will join a flotilla of ships from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa and parts of the Middle East. We want to challenge the illegal blockade and need your support!

Help us make the U.S. boat, to be named The Audacity of Hope, a reality. Our goal was to raise $370,000 in the next several weeks but nationally we have already raised almost $165,000! These funds will be used to purchase a boat large enough for 40-60 people, secure a crew, and cover the licensing and registering of the boat. In addition, the funds will subsidize some other costs of sending a U.S. delegation to Gaza.

All Aboard the Mavi Marmara"

www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=GnqItpJI4rs

David Rovics has written an evocative song called "All Aboard the Mavi Marmara." The Free Gaza team has added images in tribute to the nine brave men on board who gave their lives in pursuit of justice for the Palestinians.

This is our tribute to the men. They had names and families and children. They dreamed their dreams just as the Palestinians do.

Israeli commandos took all of that away from them by murdering them... 31 shots, most through the head and the back. The world needs to remember them; the world needs to remember the Palestinians who Israel kills every day. "All Aboard the Mavi Marmara" will be a song that will haunt you for days. The images, we hope, you will never forget. We will never forget those that were martyred on their humanitarian mission to Gaza.


We sail again in the fall. Help us make that happen.

Learn more about the US ship to Gaza (ustogaza.org/) and previous attempts to break the siege (www.freegaza.org/).

Stand up and join us in making our money and efforts count for a true justice in Palestine! mail to: FGMinChicago (at) aol.com

To receive updates on the US Boat to Gaza initiative in the Chicago area, email: supportustogaza (at) googlegroups.com

To join our efforts in fundraising and raising awareness about the US Boat to Gaza initiative, please email: fracktured.prune (at) gmail.com

U.S. Boat to Gaza Chicago Network: American Muslims for Palestine, Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism, Code PINK-Chicago, Free Gaza Movement, International Socialist Organization, International Solidarity Movement-Chicago chapter

Organization wishing to join the U.S. Boat to Gaza Chicago Network must commit to having a representative attend our meeting as well as take an active role in fundraising and support work. Any organization that joins will be removed if they fail to be an active participant in this project.



This is our tribute to the men. They had names and families and children. They dreamed their dreams just as the Palestinians do.

Israeli commandos took all of that away from them by murdering them... 31 shots, most through the head and the back. The world needs to remember them; the world needs to remember the Palestinians who Israel kills every day. "All Aboard the Mavi Marmara" will be a song that will haunt you for days. The images, we hope, you will never forget. We will never forget those that were martyred on their humanitarian mission to Gaza.