There was violence in IDF boarding of Jewish boat heading to Gaza

Yes, we now know, there was indeed violence in the Israeli naval takeover of the Irene, the “Jewish Boat” that had audaciously sailed from a northern Cyprus port last weekend, heading toward Gaza.

Predictably, most of it was directed against “refusniks” Yonatan Shapira, who once served as an Israeli Air Force pilot, and — to a lesser extent — his younger brother Itamar.

Yonatan signed “A Pilot’s letter” with 26 other Israeli Air Force pilots in September 2003, saying “we are no longer willing to follow illegal orders”, protesting targetted assassinations in particular in Gaza, which he said were “war crimes”. He formed, with former Palestinian fighters, a group called “Combattants for Peace”, which he described in an interview on Democracy Now:

Yonatan repeated his accusation of “war crime” in an interview with the BBC on 6 January 2009, at the height of the IDF Operation Cast Lead in Gaza [27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009]:

The views he expresses in these Youtube videos show why it was predictable that Yonatan would have been treated with greater violence during the Israeli naval take-over of the Irene, the Jewish Boat to Gaza.

Yonatan received three strong electric shocks from a taser gun — twice, it was fired directly onto his chest, over his heart.

An hour after their release and return to their family last week, Yonathan and Itamar wrote a testimony which is posted on the website of the Jewish Boat to Gaza organization, here, which has been corroborated by several other passengers on board who witnessed what happened.

Itamar wrote that in his communication with one Israeli naval vessel which had come closest to the Irene before boarding, “They insisted that it is me personally who is responsible for the violence that may happen if we do not obey and they will be ‘forced’ to board our little boat. I cynically tried to show them how ridiculous it seems to have so many armed, strong and trained soldiers boarding a boat with 9 un-armed people, most of whom remember the second world war and civil right movement in the 60?s, who declare non-violence. How can they portray the violence as our responsibility. I reminded them of the holocaust survivor and bereaved parent on board and that we do not want any confrontation with them. I think it made them angry but reduced their possible violence to most passengers apart from Yonatan and I”…

Itamar was seized first, and taken to the Israeli naval vessel. Then, the Irene’s captain was forcefully removed from control of his ship. He wrote that “I did not give up until one of them pushed his fingers deep onto the artery in my neck, and then I heard Yonatan’s dreadful scream and saw him losing control of his body because of the electric shock he got … Yonatan was brought to the military boat that I was on and we were both handcuffed and taken to a large ship”.

The Irene’s Captain, Glyn Secker, wrote later (see his testimony below): “I’d like to point out that in the USA it is illegal for the police or the army to fire Tazers directly into the heart as there have been a number of cases of heart failure and death as a result of such targeting”…

UPDATE: From a comment in a post about Yonatan Shapira on the mondoweiss blog, here, there is this link to a 2009 story reporting a manufacturer’s warning against stunning people in the chest: “Taser International issued a training bulletin to all law enforcement, warning officers that using the 50,000-volt stun gun could result in an ‘adverse cardiac event’ when shot in the chest. The Taser company recommends officers shoot in the back, abdomen or thigh. The company tells officers to avoid shots to the chest, face and neck, according to a statement from the company”… This is posted here.

Yonatan wrote: “While we were holding hands singing the soldiers started taking over everything. At that point I was sitting on the floor of the boat hugging Glynn and Reuven, trying to decrease the risk to them, then moved to sit with Rami. On each side one of the passengers turned off the engines so as not to make it possible for the navy to steer the boat to a different place. Soldiers on boat approached me and Rami, they seemed to want to take me to a Navy boat. Me and Rami hugged each other – the strongest hug I have ever given to anyone! The officer came towards us, pulling out his taser ordered us to stop holding on to each other. The soldier threatened if I did not let go they would hurt me, then tasered me on my right shoulder and shot twice – it was very painful – but not as painful as the next shot where he pulled aside my life jacket, put gun on my chest and fired. My whole body lost control and I convulsed like a fit, I let out a high pitched scream. Then they took me to one of their boats. And that was the ‘non-violent’ take over of the Jewish boat to Gaza. Of course if we were Palestinians or Muslims they would have shot with live ammo, but because we were Jews and Israelis and had world attention they did not want to do what they did to the Mavi Marmara. Of course later they took all evidence filmed by Eli and Vish and the only evidence which now exists is with the military and the military film itself … Itamar and I went to Ashdod in the big warship which took several hours. We saw the boat [the Irene] being towed to the port. We saw the protesters, friends, family and supporters waiting for us on the beach since the morning, and a boat of film makers with cameras that were trying to reach us but was intercepted and forced to turn back to the port. Each one of us had an intimate body search – they touched me quite intimately but no internal search. Eventually we were taken to a police station in Ashdod and saw more demonstrators waiting for us outside. The police station took several hours, they interrogated Rami, Itamar, Reuven, Eli and I and we were all accused of trying to enter an illegal closed zone, while Rami, Itamar and I were also accused of threatening, insulting and attacking the soldiers. We were all released around eight in the evening. It was shocking to be attacked so brutally whilst hugging and singing – the soldiers shouted at us, shook and pushed us. We were shocked to hear the army say the takeover was peaceful. There was a big group of Israeli media and also people from Reuters and a few others waiting for us outside station. We answered their questions, then Reuven took out his harmonica and played a beautiful Jewish songs abut people who pursued peace. Everyone joined in around us, as we sang together some people who were passing by shouted things like ‘death to the Arabs’.”

A note appended to this testimony states that “Yonatan was not given or offered any medical attention at any point after he was shot with the taser. They were released on 5000 N.I.S bail to return for additional interrogation or court discussion. It is unclear as to whether they will be charged”.

Yonatan Shapira recorded a song called “Lullaby for Pilots”, taking off from a children’s song, in which he ironically wished “Good Night, sleep well” to the pilot who dropped a one-ton bomb on an apartment building in Gaza in 2002 where a Palestinian was staying who was suspected of organizing a number of suicide bombings in Israel:

An Israel fan/love song by the Israeli singer Aya Korem, entitled “Make me babies, Yonatan Shapira”  made the facebook rounds last spring.  See it on Youtube here.

Another commenter on mondoweiss translated a small part of the lyrics into English:

“Mom always told me guys are all the same/
If one goes today, another will come tomorrow.
But Mom doesn’t know/
Yonatan Shapira!”

Richard Silverstein wrote this about the song on his blog, Tikkun Olam, here: “At any rate, Israeli pop artist Aya Corem attended music school with Yonatan Shapira with whom she apparently shared some good times. She wrote a whimsical song about him as her imaginary lover and showed it to him. They laughed over the preposterousness of it all. Shapira was flattered undoubtedly. Never once did he believe he’d be hearing his name blaring from radios all over Israel, the subject of a raging pop hit. Now wherever he travels he hears a song describing him as irresistibly cute and sexy, while in his heart he knows he’s been fired from his job for his political views and that he may be forced to leave the country earn a living”.

Here is a Youtube video in which Yonatan Shapira, speaking rather slowly, explains how he evolved and came to his present position:

The Irene‘s Captain, Glyn Secker, deported later to Britain, wrote his own testimony. This is his account of the interception and boarding by Israeli naval forces: “finally after all these days and weeks of anticipation we identified a frigate on the horizon. It shadowed us for some considerable time, keeping on our port side about five miles off. Then we saw a number of smaller craft lined up and realized that the encounter was approaching. We rehearsed our strategies and waited, with adrenalin levels slowly rising. Shortly there came a call on Ch 16 over the VHF from the frigate asking us our intentions and the flag of the boat. I informed them that we were heading for Gaza port, that we were in international waters and had no intention of entering Israeli waters. They replied that Gaza was within a prohibited area and that we should change our course. I responded by stating that that did not accord with international law, that we were unarmed, had no materials which could be put to military use, that we carried a consignment of aid for Gaza and that we expected safe passage. They then warned us that they would intercept us, that this could be dangerous for the crew and damaging for the boat. I reiterated that as a British flagged boat they had no legal right to intercept us and that we intended to maintain our course to Gaza. There was no reply and we continued on our passage for perhaps another twenty minutes – presumably they were waiting for us to cross the boundary of their unilaterally declared prohibited zone. There then developed a sight which will remain with me for the rest of my life – with the frigate in the background, two gunboats, two landing craft and four high powered ribs spread out in a semi-circle speeding towards us at perhaps 35 knots, with their bow waves and wakes flashing in the sunshine. It was surreal, it was like an action movie, and entranced by the sight I had to remind myself this was actually happening – this overwhelming force for a 9.7 metre 40 yr. old boat, the majority of its Jewish occupants over 60 years old, with no weapons and a publicized policy of passive resistance”.

Then came the boarding. Secker recounts being forcefully removed from the wheel, and thrown to the floor — but not tasered.

Secker continues: “On the opposite side of the cockpit Yonatan Shapira and his brother Itamar had been identified by the IDF commander in charge. He sought to separate them from the others. Yonatan clasped Rami in a hug to prevent himself being removed. The senior officer then moved one sideYonatan’s lifejacket covering his left breast, placed a Tazer gun in contact with his clothing and fired it directly into his heart. Yonatan let out a dreadful scream and the force of the Tazer caused him to lose control of his muscles. He was pulled off Rami and across the cockpit to the middle. He was then hit twice more by the Tazer gun, screaming out again. Both he and Itamar were forcefully pulled off our boat onto the IDF rib on port side.They were driven at very high speed over the waters, which had now become moderately rough (the wind had increased to a F4) and it would have been very uncomfortable especially for Yonatan still recovering from the Tazer shocks. They were taken to the frigate where they were treated normally, then to shore and released on bail without charges … I’d like to point out that in the USA it is illegal for the police or the army to fire Tazers directly into the heart as there have been a number of cases of heart failure and death as a result of such targeting. The fact that Yonatan was released without charge makes it very clear that the use of the Tazer on him was purely malicious”.

The Captain’s account continued: “Meanwhile I had turned off the fuel supply to the engines. After some time (the engines only burn 1 1/2 litres per hour) when the fuel in the pipes had been used up the port engine started to fail. (The starboard fuel shut-off failed to work). After many attempts to restart the engine the IDF took the boat in tow. The boat is designed to go through the water at a maximum speed of about 8 knots. They towed us through the rough waters at 12 – 14 knots. The boat was bouncing about violently, it was dangerous for the remaining passengers and crew, including Reuvan, our 82 year old holocaust survivor. We all sustained bruises and the passage to Ashdod was exhausting. There was something like eight commandos on the boat in addition to ourselves so it was grossly overloaded. It was surprising that the boat did not begin to break up, the whole structure was groaning and making cracking sounds. It was clear that they intended to seriously mistreat the boat … Contrary to IDF reports, there was therefore, considerable resistance, be it non-violent, to the IDF’s illegal hijacking of our boat, and there was considerable, unprovoked and very dangerous violence perpetrated by the IDF”.

On his deportation, Secker wrote these interesting details: “I was taken to the Immigration and Boarder Authority where I experienced a truly Kafkaesque moment. We were presented with a form to sign which stated that I was due to be deported being suspected of residing in Israel illegally. When I pointed out that the only reason I was in Israel at all was that the IDF had kidnapped me and forcefully brought me into Israel on the orders of the government, the reply was that it did not matter who had brought me in, but that now I was there I was there without permission and so due for deportation. They were not amused by my laughter. The regulations allowed for a rapid departure at their expense if I signed the form, but I was anxious not to be seen to recognize the Israeli law creating the blockade and therefore the basis for deportation. Then equally bizarrely, they stated that I could add whatever statement I wished to the form and could have a photocopy, so I added a clause stating that I did not recognize the legal basis for the deportation as it had no basis in international law, and duly signed”. Glyn Secker’s testimony is now posted here and on the main page of the Jewish Boat to Gaza’s website, here

Meantime, in a directly related matter, Nobel Peace prize winner Mairead Maguire is facing deportation from Israel because of a decision — of which she was apparently unaware, and which one of her attorney’s has argued should not have been applied to her in the first place — that she had been barred from entering Israel for ten years when seized aboard the MV Rachel Corrie which tried to sail into Gaza on early June. The MV Rachel Corrie was sponsored by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and was intended to be part of the Freedom Flotilla which was intercepted at sea by Israeli Naval forces on 31 May. In that naval operation, nine men — including a 19-year-old American high school student — were killed on board the Mavi Marmara, a large passenger ship carrying 600 passengers and crew at the time, and sponsored by the Turkish relief organization IHH, which the Israeli government believes had planned to resist Israeli interception because of alleged “terrorist” connections.

The Petah Tikvah District Court denied Maguire’s appeal on Friday, and she is reportedly now considering whether or not to appeal to Israel’s Supreme Court. The Petah Tikvah court reportedly ordered a temporary delay in Maguire’s deportation to allow her to file her Supreme Court appeal, if she so wished.

Maguire flew into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport during the week to participate in a visit to Israel and the West Bank by a delegation of women Nobel Peace Prize winners who are supposed to hold a conference on Saturday (today).

YNet has reported that “Maguire’s lawyer, Fatma Ajou [of Adalah], said she would petition the ruling. ‘This is a fundamental and factual mistake. Ms. Maguire received no document ordering her deportation and removal, despite what was said in court. She received no document in English. We believe there is no basis for keeping Maguire away and that she poses no risk. She is here to spread the issue of peace’. [However] The judge stated in his ruling that the claim that Maguire did not receive the restraining order was not true, as he had evidence that it was handed to her ‘in a document of the deputy Irish ambassador, which was only prepared the day before yesterday and submitted by Maguire’s representative. This document confirms that Maguire was given the restraining order on June 2010’ … Maguire, who was detained at Ben Gurion Airport upon landing in Israel earlier this week, said that she swore during a visit to the concentration camps not to keep quiet in the face of suffering children, as there are in the Gaza Strip, according to her. The court suggested that she submit a request to Interior Minister Eli Yishai from Ireland for an entry visa to Israel. Judge Amir said Maguire should not remain in custody because she is not a criminal, but added that she should not have violated the Interior Ministry’s decision but rather file a formal entry request before leaving for Israel … Maguire’s attorney, Orna Cohen [or Kohn, also of Adalah], said the Nobel laureate arrived in Israel aboard the ‘Rachel Corrie’ boat, not aboard the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, which was raided by Israeli commandoes in late May. Cohen said that after the activists aboard the ‘Rachel Corrie’ were taken to Ashdod Port, it was agreed that a permanent order barring their entry to Israel would not be issued. The attorney said no such order was presented to Maguire upon her arrival in Israel and was only told that the order appears on the airport’s computer system“.

This YNet report is posted here. It is not entirely clear, but it seems that the Irish Embassy might have been informed about a ten-year ban prohibiting Maguire from travelling to Israel, though she herself was unaware of this. Adalah Attorney Orna Cohen [Kohn] has also raised a new point suggesting that there was an agreement with the Israeli authorities on different treatment for those on board the MV Rachel Corrie, a smaller and slower vessel that only arrived near Gaza five days after the rest of the Freedom Flotilla, of which it was originally supposed to have been a part.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) published a statement here, dated 1 October (Friday), saying that “According to her legal team she will now be deported within 48 hours during which time Ms. Maguire may file another appeal with the Israeli high court. Ms Maguire’s legal representative Salah Mohsen, of Adalah said today: ‘[The court] decided that she will be deported within 48 hours, leaving her the time, if she wants, to present an appeal to the high court’. At the time of writing, the 66-year-old peace activist had not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling … Ms Maguire was visiting Israel and the West Bank as part of a high-level women’s fact finding mission looking at the work of Palestinian and Jewish female peace activists. Upon arrival in Ben Gurion airport, Ms Maguire was informed she could not enter Israel as a result of her participation as a passenger on the MV Rachel Corrie in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in June. She was subsequently dragged by four male security guards to the door of a British-bound airplane, whereupon she peacefully sat on the floor, refusing to move. Ms Maguire reported that the manhandling had caused bruises under arms. Ms Maguire refused to board to the plane as her legal representatives had submitted a petition to the courts contesting the deportation”.

The Israeli media had previously reported that the captain of the airplane on which Maguire was supposed to have been flown out by force had refused to take off with her on board — because she had made a “scene”, according to the Israeli media, but more likely because the airplane captain, who is the commander on board and in absolute charge during a flight, can refuse to cooperate with forceful deportations.

According to the IPSC statement, “Ms. Maguire was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her extraordinary actions to end the sectarian violence in her native Northern Ireland. In the 30 years since receiving the award, she has dedicated her life to promoting peace, both in Northern Ireland and around the world. Most recently, in June 2010, Ms. Maguire set sail on the MV Rachel Corrie to help break the blockade on Gaza and bring humanitarian aid to the besieged coastal strip. The boat was hijacked in international waters by Israeli commandos, and it was forced to sail to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Ms. Maguire was detained for two days and then deported from Israel”.

While the IPSC maintains that the MV Rachel Corrie was boarded “in international waters”, it has never responded to my requests for the exact coordinates of the boarding. Nor has the IDF.

Many Palestinian solidarity groups maintain — without basis — that Gaza’s territorial waters extend, like Israel’s, 12 miles out straight to sea from the coast in the eastern Mediterranean.

This is not correct.

In fact, Gaza’s maritime space has been delineated in the Oslo Accords by agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and it extends — unlike any other maritime space in the region — 20 miles out to sea. This was originally defined as a fishing, then as an economic, zone. The Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, announced on the night of 3-4 January 2009, as the IDF began ground phase of Operation Cast Lead [27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009]. The Israeli formal notification of its naval blockade of Gaza indicates that it covers roughly the same space as its agreed maritime zone.

There are apparently a number of unpublished Israeli-Palestinian agreements concerning Israeli security control in Gaza’s maritime space. However, the formal Israeli declaration of its naval blockade of Gaza strongly suggests that one of the main aims and intention is to firmly ban efforts to send “Flotillas” into the Gaza Strip — at least since that time, until the present.

Israel’s declaration of a formal naval blockade was treated casually and carelessly by the Israeli government until the Freedom Flotilla approached at the end of May. Since then, the Israeli political echelon has developed a new-found appreciation for international law as a tool that might sometimes serve its interests.

However, a committee of three experts who studied the Flotilla fiasco at the request of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva submitted a report last week in which they argue that the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza is illegal because of the dire humanitarian in the Gaza Strip. One of the requirements for such a blockade, according to international legal experts who were asked to analyze the matter in the wake of the Flotilla fiasco, was that it could not be applied to a territory where there was hunger and other human suffering.