Rashid Khalidi to Challenge Israeli Blockade of Gaza

As reported by Campus Watch, Rashid Khalidi, professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, has sent an appeal for funds to outfit a ship that would challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Honoring his friend Barack Obama, the ship will be named The Audacity of Hope.

The appeal letter can be read at http://www.ustogaza.org/.

Khalidi promises that the ships will join ships from around the world that will sail to Gaza in October.

The opening statement in the appeal has the usual canards about Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian residents of that region. Here is an example:

This is an important moment in history. In the aftermath of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla massacre and increased world-wide scrutiny of Israel's blockade of Gaza, the Israeli government has mounted a huge public relations campaign spreading the lie that by letting a few more items into Gaza the blockade has been lifted. This is not the reality. Gaza is still under siege, vital building materials and other supplies are banned, exports of goods from Gaza are denied and neither ships nor people can travel without permission from Israel, permission which Israel will not give. Gaza is essentially an open-air prison under a U.S.-backed Israeli blockade.

Khalidi, who used to be the spokesman for the PLO, has a long history of anti-Israeli and anti-American bias, as do the other signatories in the petition.

Yesterday I posted a video documenting the “misery” of life in Gaza.