Phew, your post is hard to read partly BECAUSE YOU ARE 'SHOUTING', but mostly because of what you write. The idea that sitting on the beach smoking shisha in itself is a good thing for the Palestinians, when they are dealing with the conditions there and the reality, is just a bit sick, and naive. Sure it's amazing for you, but not justifiable or helpful if you are not also doing human rights work there or similar support. Sheesh, and you talk about the persecution on the way. I don't know what happened to you, but shit, let me talk about naivety, and times to compare and complain....!!

And Thatcher's now-discredited 'trickle down' effect, the idea that spending your tourist shekels in shops is a way to help Palestinians, is enough, is a justification for all the CO2 you are responsible for getting there, just makes me want to hold my head in my hands, or shout.

The problem is not spending enough in the shops there, but getting enough in and out of the border, which Israel blockades (yes, and via their Egyptian stooges).

And I hear part of the problem with the Viva Palestina convoy was that you listened to your team leaders, good ole George G, and he agreed that you'd all stay for only a day and a half, then leave, despite your protestations. That's hierarchy for you.

But to give you some credit, maybe you are saying that you should listen to people about what is culturally appropriate there? Well, firstly, such projects should be Palestinian-led, you don't seem to have taken on the cultural stuff with your idea of Christmas on the beach in Gaza, and maybe if you want to help, you should go to the West Bank first, where you can get experience getting your head round these things, be useful, and in a culturally more Western setting. There's advice on this at  http://talestotell.wordpress.com/about/#comment-422 You wouldn't go far wrong reading through the rest of that blog to get an idea of the real conditions there, which you seem not to have got to see when you were there.

GREAT SUGGESTION!

admins please remove this hierarchical posting. thanks

yay for team leaders, lets all follow the team leaders, off the cliff maybe? Sorry, but i had to read your post twice to make sure it was not a joke.

Although i respect the fact that you were actually in Gaza, the fact that you refer to a tourist industry is pretty irrelevant in the situation – if we want to help Palestinians in Gaza, the tourist industry is the last thing we should be fighting for, how about opening the borders and crossings and actually partaking in direct action to end the occupation? Arriving on a ship and then leaving the day after does diddly squat. And as the post above says, where were the Palestinian initiatives in this? It’s a bit orientalist, don’t you think? Good old Georgie G and his bedfellows, probably taking along his talk radio possy for a flying visit, without any meaningful dialogue or constructive work with the people on the ground. I suggest looking to what groups such as the ISM and Anarchists Against the Wall do in the West Bank for ways to fight the occupation without it coming across as some holiday camp for teenage delinquents, bless!

well, apart from the fact that you criticise hierarchy, and then say omg (Oh my God!), well that would just be amusing if it were intentional!

But both you and the commenter below, who also criticises team leaders....well, though I also criticised the whole leadership/hierarchy thing, and work & strive for a non-hierarchical world, it's very easy from the UK activist perspective to knee-jerk ideologically jump up against any notion of leadership. Over there, it's only right that you respect and listen to the Palestinian-led (& so leaders?) bit of your project. There may be some lines that you're not prepared to cross, and there will probably be things you'll openly critique, saying we do things differently round our way, and this is why, but at the same time it's not your struggle, it's not you who are left there for your whole life whilst the Western activists jet (hopefully not by plane) off leaving you to deal with the consequences. You cannot have an understanding of what's appropriate in that setting unless you are from a similar background. For me, it's about being a collectivist anarchist, rather than an individualist one, thinking about the impact of your actions on communities and others around.

with the last post to an extent. I do accept that in some instances, especially in cases like this it is obviously important to work closely with Palestinian committees and the Palestinian communities and it is important to remember that your actions have direct consequences on these people,so to follow their lead to an extent is to be expected. However, there is a stark difference though between working with Palestinians who may lead on actions than it is to follow and blindly listen to the team leaders from Bolton. Hierarchy for the sake of it is not needed!

Crap slogan, good sentiment.