The passengers on Freedom Flotilla 2 are currently assembling in Athens, parachuting into a country on the brink of mass revolt. (Perhaps more on that in a future post, but for now check out someone who knows a great deal more about Europe than me.)
As anyone who has been following developments with the Flotilla knows, all forces even remotely associated with it have been under intense pressure from Israel (and presumably the US, behind the scenes.) One result of this pressure is that the Mavi Marmara, the ship owned by the Turkish charity IHH on which nine activists were murdered by Israeli commandos last summer, will not be sailing in the Flotilla as expected (although my understanding is that IHH is still participating as an organization, contrary to what some reports have said.)
This is a blow on a symbolic level, obviously, but also in terms of pure logistics. The withdrawal of the Mavi Marmara has cut the numbers of the Flotilla in half. But something interesting has also happened. With the highly charged symbolism of the Mavi Marmara out of the picture, the star of the Flotilla (at least in the US media) has sort of become the US Boat to Gaza. This is something I'm sure no one expected when fundraising began for the US Boat over a year ago.
As Joseph Dana points out, the US boat is now the largest in the Flotilla. It will carry 36 activists, 4 crew members, and 10 journalists, including reporters, photographers and/or camera crews from the New York Times, CNN, and CBS News. Also among the press corps are two of Israel/Palestine's finest independent journalists: Mya Guarnieri, writing for Ma'an, and Dana himself, who will be covering the Flotilla for The Nation.
Wait, wait. Let me repeat that list again. The New York Times, CNN, and CBS News. Are on the Flotilla.
Remember last year, when there was a virtual media blackout on the first Freedom Flotilla, right up until the moment people got murdered? This time around, there's been a sea change (sorry, had to do it) in media coverage that is nothing short of surreal. Major US media outlets have run significant and not-appallingly-bad stories about the Flotilla, well in advance of its departure, including at least two in the Paper of Record, which is hardly known for its favorable coverage of Palestine. The US media is beginning to see the Flotilla itself, and not just the Israeli reaction to it, as a major news story that can't be ignored.
Of course, that does not guarantee at all that what happens will be reported fairly or make it past unfriendly editorial filters. But it does change the dynamics of the situation in significant ways. When the first Flotilla was attacked, grassroots journalists had to fight tooth and nail to wrest control of the media narrative away from the Israelis. It's just not going to be that easy this time around. Even if US mainstream media journalists are not particularly sympathetic to the Palestinians, they are used to being treated with respect and decency, particularly by governments and militaries that, y'know, we pay for. I have a feeling they may be in for a very rude awakening, and that can only have a positive impact on their coverage.
I do think Israel will intercept this Flotilla. I don't think they'll repeat the wholesale killing spree they unleashed on the Mavi Marmara, although they have already threatened other forms of violence against the unarmed passengers of the boats. But it's going to be really hard for them to spin whatever they do as a justified response to crazy violent Islamist terrorists when the most high-profile passengers on the Flotilla are citizens of a nation that is one of their only remaining allies.
As anyone who has been following developments with the Flotilla knows, all forces even remotely associated with it have been under intense pressure from Israel (and presumably the US, behind the scenes.) One result of this pressure is that the Mavi Marmara, the ship owned by the Turkish charity IHH on which nine activists were murdered by Israeli commandos last summer, will not be sailing in the Flotilla as expected (although my understanding is that IHH is still participating as an organization, contrary to what some reports have said.)
This is a blow on a symbolic level, obviously, but also in terms of pure logistics. The withdrawal of the Mavi Marmara has cut the numbers of the Flotilla in half. But something interesting has also happened. With the highly charged symbolism of the Mavi Marmara out of the picture, the star of the Flotilla (at least in the US media) has sort of become the US Boat to Gaza. This is something I'm sure no one expected when fundraising began for the US Boat over a year ago.
As Joseph Dana points out, the US boat is now the largest in the Flotilla. It will carry 36 activists, 4 crew members, and 10 journalists, including reporters, photographers and/or camera crews from the New York Times, CNN, and CBS News. Also among the press corps are two of Israel/Palestine's finest independent journalists: Mya Guarnieri, writing for Ma'an, and Dana himself, who will be covering the Flotilla for The Nation.
Wait, wait. Let me repeat that list again. The New York Times, CNN, and CBS News. Are on the Flotilla.
Remember last year, when there was a virtual media blackout on the first Freedom Flotilla, right up until the moment people got murdered? This time around, there's been a sea change (sorry, had to do it) in media coverage that is nothing short of surreal. Major US media outlets have run significant and not-appallingly-bad stories about the Flotilla, well in advance of its departure, including at least two in the Paper of Record, which is hardly known for its favorable coverage of Palestine. The US media is beginning to see the Flotilla itself, and not just the Israeli reaction to it, as a major news story that can't be ignored.
Of course, that does not guarantee at all that what happens will be reported fairly or make it past unfriendly editorial filters. But it does change the dynamics of the situation in significant ways. When the first Flotilla was attacked, grassroots journalists had to fight tooth and nail to wrest control of the media narrative away from the Israelis. It's just not going to be that easy this time around. Even if US mainstream media journalists are not particularly sympathetic to the Palestinians, they are used to being treated with respect and decency, particularly by governments and militaries that, y'know, we pay for. I have a feeling they may be in for a very rude awakening, and that can only have a positive impact on their coverage.
I do think Israel will intercept this Flotilla. I don't think they'll repeat the wholesale killing spree they unleashed on the Mavi Marmara, although they have already threatened other forms of violence against the unarmed passengers of the boats. But it's going to be really hard for them to spin whatever they do as a justified response to crazy violent Islamist terrorists when the most high-profile passengers on the Flotilla are citizens of a nation that is one of their only remaining allies.
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