Open letter to David Cameron: EU leaders must insist on an end to the Gaza blockade

38 years ago 14 young people were tragically shot dead in Northern Ireland during a civil disturbance. Yesterday you stood in the House of Commons and said, "What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong...what happened should never, ever have happened."
You went on to say, " Some members of our armed forces acted wrongly. The government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the armed forces and for that, on behalf of the government, indeed, on behalf of our country, I am deeply sorry."
It is eerie to think that just two weeks ago, an exact replica of Bloody Sunday occurred, this time in International waters off the coast of Gaza.
Learn from Bloody Sunday. Learn from the Saville Report. We must not let another 38 years burn before we learn the truth this time.
In the words of Lord Saville, "what happened on Bloody Sunday strengthened the Provisional IRA, increased hostility towards the Army and exacerbated the violent conflict of the years that followed". The EU said on Monday that the blockade ' is unacceptable and politically counterproductive'. This terrible attack could lead to further extremism or it could be a turning point in the spiral of violence and injustice.

Europe must take the lead to end the siege of Gaza, but if Mr Blair has his way Europe will fall back on a softly softly approach, losing this historic opportunity.

More than any of the other EU leaders, you have just felt the effects of Bloody Sunday on your skin, but you have also experienced the cleansing power of Lord Saville's report. You must therefore now take the lead and bring truth, transparency and impartiality to the investigation of the Gaza flotilla raid.

I urge you to prove to us all that you have the political clout and integrity to succeed where Tony Blair has so miserably failed.

I look forward to learning that you have succeeded in this mission.

Yesterday I p*ssed off the London traffic majorly ... or did I?

Yesterday I decided to be awkward and join the Gaza Flotilla protest march through London, from Downing Street to the Israeli Embassy.

In an attempt to keep the traffic flowing, the police had provided neatly placed traffic cones connected with white tape all along the route. Unfortunately, so popular was the march that cones and tapes were soon trampled underfoot by sheer weight of numbers, and double deckers, taxis and cars were unceremoniously stopped in their tracks. The motorists' reaction was unexpected. Those who weren't enthusiastically giving the march the thumbs up or victory signs, just sat quietly in their cars - clearly with no stomach to actually show any annoyance with those who had given up their Saturday to carry the message.

'Trouble maker' is my 2nd name, especially since I came to live in England where 'could be worse' and 'mustn't grumble' are the default mindset. No wonder those in power have had it so easy for so long.

So I'll keep shouting whenever I come across stuff that is just wrong. And there are such things. No viewpoints, vested interests or objectivity can change a basic wrong - and the bully tactics employed by Israel in the form of the Gaza blockade is one of those wrongs.

An interesting byproduct of a bully being exposed is how it serves to bring everyone else's disagreements into perspective. Yesterday I found myself mixing convivially with groups from strict muslims, who stopped to pray every now and then, to ruddy-cheeked Countryside Alliance members in sports jackets. For a confirmed marxist-atheist-fox-loving city chick that's pretty weird, but somehow liberating.

'Jews for Justice for Palestine' and 'Jews against Zionism' were similarly rubbing shoulders with the 'Palestine Solidarity Campaign' and although I noticed one of two sporadic flare-ups where groups of jewish youths attempted to goad protesters from the sidelines, these were soon diffused by the stewards.

I think the huge turnout speaks for itself and I also think that we'll now see an endless stream of all manner of ocean going craft heading for Gaza over the summer. It reminds me of that Arlo Guthrie lyric from Alice's Restaurant about how to make an individual's objection gradually grow into an organisation and then into a movement.

Now where did I put those seasick tablets?

Why The Gaza Flotilla is Apartheit Israel's Soweto

Isn't it extraordinary how short term our discussions have become? Scanning through assorted blogs and bulletin boards I wonder if the defenders of Israel's recent actions ever think of the bigger, longer term picture?

We're talking here about a country who's been engaged in wholesale bullying for half a century - I am, of course, talking about the USofA and specifically their 51st state - Israel. And, like father like son, Israel is just as accomplished at bullying.

The carving up of the Palestinian territory in the first place was hardly 'consensual' - I doubt that many Palestinians thought it a great idea. Then came the ever expanding occupied territories, hundreds of illegal settlements, land grabs, routine intimidation and discrimination, grotesque wall building, wholesale bombing, killing and destruction. And when the Gazans democratically elected the 'wrong' party, Israel put a noose around their collective necks by blockading the miserable strip of land they had left - and then, for good measure, dished out some more of all of the above...

And still the Palestinians stay put. They just don't get it. All Israel is trying to do is to help the Palestinians understand that they'd be much better off packing up their [by now] meagre belongings and moving off to some other country, leaving the entire place to the Israelis so everyone can live happily ever after.

Snap back to the real world and to the first sentence in this little tale "The carving up of the Palestinian territory in the first place was hardly 'consensual' "...

That kind of puts the reason for the aid flotilla and the very big mistake of storming the ships into some sort of context.

Bullying always ends in tears - the bully's tears. One day the worm turns and, in the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that just happened.