Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Cynthia McKinney Returns to U.S. After Ordeal on High Seas and Israeli Prison
Bill Quigley
02 Jul 2009
🖨️ Print Article
The Editors

Former Georgia Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney arrives at JFK Airport early Tuesday morning. McKinney, known as prisoner #88794 during her confinement at Ramle prison since Tuesday, was arrested along wih 20 other activists of the Free Gaza Movment when the Israeli Navy seized their vessel, Human Spirit, on the high seas. The boat was enroute from Cyprus to Gaza bearing humanitarian aid to Palestinian victims of the two-year-old Israeli blockade and military assault on the Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million people.

McKinney and other Free Gaza members had refused to sign documents that were written in Hebrew and were said to be admissions to having entered Israel illegally. McKinney points out that she and here colleagues had no intention of entering Israel – their mission was to deliver humanitarian supplies, including cement and toys for children.

In a call from Ramle prison on Friday, Ms. McKinney reported: “The Israeli authorities tried to get us to confess to committing a crime. Israel,” she declared, “must be declared a failed state.”

Among her cellmates were Ethiopian female would-be immigrants to Israel who “thought Israel held promise for them – but it wasn’t true.”

Demonstrations in support of McKinney and the “Free Gaza 21”were held in several U.S. cities, including at the Israeli consulate in New York City. City Councilman Charles Barron led the crowd in chants of, “Hands of Cynthia McKinney.” Other actions were scheduled  in New York, Washington, Atlanta and Chicago, this weekend.

 


Cynthia McKinney

The continuing blockade of Gaza, in which Israel and the U.S. collectively punish 1.5 million people is a crime under international law, and one of many stories not covered in the corporate news.  Here are a few places where you can find out more about the situation in Israel-Palestine and the blockade.
  • The Free Gaza Project --ISRAEL ATTACKS JUSTICE BOAT; KIDNAPS HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS; CONFISCATES MEDICINE, TOYS AND OLIVE TREES

the blockade

 

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    “Reflections on Parenting and Revolutionary Struggle”: An Interview with Erica Caines
    26 Jun 2024
    “Reflections on Parenting and Revolutionary Struggle” is a space for parent-organizers to share their experiences and struggles with parenting. BAR Book Forum Editor, Roberto Sirvent will speak to…
  • Ujima People’s Progress Party
    Ujima People’s Progress Party Statement on Governor Wes Moore’s Marijuana Conviction Pardons
    26 Jun 2024
    Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently issued pardons for over 175,000 people in a show of "progress" in criminal justice reform. But these pardons barely scratch the surface of the destruction of…
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Detroit Wayne State U Faculty/Staff for Justice in Palestine Formed
    26 Jun 2024
    Wayne State University faculty and staff and the surrounding community steped up to support students as the school continues its repression against pro-Palestine organizing.
  • Chris Geraldi
    Meet the Cops Running the NYPD’s 86-Member Public Relations Team
    26 Jun 2024
    The police department’s PR team has more than doubled in size in the past two years. Some of its recent hires have histories of dishonesty and misconduct.
  • Candice Norwood
    Parole and Probation Rules Limit Travel. That Can Be Complicated for People Seeking Abortions
    26 Jun 2024
    More than half of the 800,000 women under community supervision live in states with abortion restrictions, making the path to access more difficult — or impossible.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us