A phone call to the Gush Shalom office from the Gaza-based Campaign Against the Siege: "The fishermen are in dire need; next week they are going to make a protest sailing from the port of Gaza, using their last reserves of fuel in order to call out to
the world for help. Can you organize some solidarity action in Israel?"
Already for many years, Gaza fishermen have been harassed by Israeli Navy gunboats, cruising offshore and limiting them to a very narrow coastal strip. Boats trying to venture deeper into the sea where fish are more plentiful, risk getting boarded and
their crews detained "on suspicion of arms smuggling" -- and in many cases, the gunboats simply open fire.
But the shortage of fuel due to the siege makes it difficult to sail even the short permitted distance. Moreover, the same fuel shortage also caused Gazan sewage treatment plants to be shut down, raw sewage being spilled into sea with quite catastrophic effects upon the fish.

The idea came up that Gush Shalom would organize a solidarity sailing. But where to find a boat at such short notice? The veteran Naftali Raz -- once a central Peace Now activist, nowadays editor of the web-based newsletter "On the Left Side" --
advised Gush Shalom that boats are to be found for hire, even at short notice, at the Herzliya Marina.

Avi, owner and operator of the Holiday Cruise Company, seemed quite friendly on the phone: "Sure, you can rent the boat for an hour, two hours, a whole day -- as much as you want. Yes, I understand you are leftists and work with the Arabs from Gaza. I
don't care about politics, as long as I see the colour of your money."

A large banner 'Gaza: Stop the Siege - Let the ceasefire sail!' was produced and Teddy Katz took care in advance to have it attached to the boat's side where usually commercial ads are displayed.

With the Gazans we finalized the time for an hour of simultaneous sailing (from 10.30 am) and for a ship-to-ship phone link while at sea. All seemed set for plain sailing on the morning of June 16.

Not exactly. The heterogeneous group of activists -- young and old, radicals and mainstream -- reached the quayside and started boarding, when the friendly Avi suddenly burst out with "No Keffiyeh on my ship! No way, there are limits!"

Actually, the conspicuous Arab headdress was worn by a young Jewish activist from Jerusalem, who combined it with a thoroughly Jewish Orthodox skullcap -- in token of an ecumenical and broadminded outlook. Not that all this made any difference in the
furious debate that broke out.

And then the captain noticed the Gush Shalom two-flag symbols, which really threw him overboard with rage. "And no Palestinian flags on board. Who do you think I am?" Who indeed?

We outnumbered the crew, and were able to get on board with all our signs and pieces of clothing -- but there was no way we could put out to sea.

An increasing crescendo of shouting was captured by the two TV cameras present: "Get off my ship or I will call the police!" "We will sue you for breach of contract, and for racist discrimination too!" Finally, it was decided to hold a solidarity
vigil on the quayside -- as, obviously, we were not going to sail in any case.

So, the signs with "The siege is state terror" were unfurled on shore, and the scheduled phone call with Gaza carried out in time. "It doesn't matter that you have this trouble, the most important that we know, and the fishermen know, you conduct this
solidarity action." said our friend and partner Eyad Sarraj, on the other side.

As we heard, the Gaza action itself -- "A Quest for Freedom" -- had gone without a hitch: Ten boats sailing off in formation, having on board Palestinian fishermen and intellectuals, and avoiding a confrontation with the gunboats.

Later on the day, there was a colourful report on the Israeli Y-net news website, sparking off a prolonged and furious debate in the talkback section: "Three cheers for the patriotic captain who spiked the leftist traitors' plan". "Who are you
cheering, you idiot? A racist fanatic, a real-life pirate captain?"