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Sun, Sept 26, 2010 | CNN

The Irene, a 10 meter catamaran, leaves Cyprus on Sunday (AFP/Getty Images)

Jewish Activists Set Sail For Gaza With Aid

A Jewish aid ship (a 33-foot [10-meter] catamaran) sponsored by several Jewish organizations around the world set sail Sunday from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip, despite the Israeli naval blockade to the Gaza territory. The group organizing this mission says its goal is to show that not all Jews support Israeli policies on Palestinians and if Israeli authorities try to stop them, they won’t resist boarding.

The boat, named Irene, was carrying 10 passengers and crew, including Jews from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Israel.

“The boat will attempt to reach the coast of Gaza and unload its aid cargo in a nonviolent, symbolic act of solidarity and protest — and call for the siege to be lifted to enable free passage of goods and people to and from the Gaza Strip,” organizers said in a statement.

The captain of the boat, Glyn Secker, said that they left Cyprus at 1 p.m. and expect to arrive in Gaza in 36 hours.

The boat’s cargo includes children’s toys, musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets and prosthetic limbs, the organizers said. [Sun, Sept 26, 2010; CNN MidEast]

Among the voyage organizers are the UK group “Jews for Justice for Palestinians”, the “European Jews for a Just Peace” and the US-based “Jewish Voice for Peace”.

Police in Cyprus said they were not aware of the ship’s departure, spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said … Cyprus has a ban on vessels leaving the southern part of the island for Gaza. It was unclear from what part of the island the boat departed. [Sun, Sept 26, 2010; CNN MidEast]

Read more here.