When: May 30, 2020 at 10:00 PDT
What: Zoom discussion with filmmaker Iara Lee, author Norman Finkelstein, and survivors of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on the 10th Anniversary Of The Israeli Attack On The Mavi Marmara
Access: Register for the Zoom webinar at the following link: https://bit.ly/3brBQqZ
Contact: Iara Lee and Norman Finkelstein are available for interviews in advance of the event. Contact Iara Lee’s press liaison Tamara Shvelidze at outreachdepartment@culturesofresistance.org and for Dr Finkelstein, contact Sana Kassem at sanakassem61@hotmail.com.
On May 31, 2010, filmmaker Iara Lee was on the Mavi Marmara, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, when the boat was attacked by Israeli military forces. The flotilla was an effort to bring humanitarian aid to the illegally blockaded Gaza Strip, and the largest boat in the flotilla was the Mavi Marmara. In the early morning hours of May 31, Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara and opened fire on civilian passengers, killing nine passengers (a tenth passenger died later from his injuries) and wounding dozens more. Despite Israeli attempts to confiscate all footage taken during the attack on the boat, Iara Lee’s film crew retained the assault footage, which she later screened at the United Nations.
You can find the raw footage from the attack, as well as three short films about the attack and its aftermath, here, courtesy of Cultures of Resistance Films.
On May 30 at 10am PDT, Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition will mark the tenth anniversary of the attack on the Mavi Marmara with a Q&A discussion on Zoom. Lee will be joined by internationally renowned author Norman Finkelstein and shipmates, human rights activists who were on the Mavi Marmara. This webinar is a part of a series of webinars to commemorate those killed in the attack, as well as to remember the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel who have been killed by the Israeli military.
The Zoom event will feature first-hand remembrance of what happened on the Mavi Marmara, a discussion of the blockade of Gaza and its humanitarian impact over the past decade, and a description of the ongoing legal case concerning the attack that is progressing in the International Criminal Court.
You can find information about joining the discussion on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s website.
For more information about the event, please contact Iara Lee’s press liaison Tamara Shvelidze at outreachdepartment@culturesofresistance.org and for Dr Finkelstein, contact Sana Kassem sanakassem61@hotmail.com.