'We're
Sailing Again – Join Us!'

This spring,
the Free Gaza Movement is sending at least six boats to Gaza to break Israel’s
illegal blockade on 1.5 million Palestinians. This blockade constitutes an act
of collective punishment, a crime prohibited under international humanitarian
law. Gaza's man-made and internationally perpetuated crisis is set to deepen as
Egypt builds an Iron wall 30 meters deep and 20 meters high on the southern
Rafah border, closing off the final route for Palestinians to get basic
supplies.

The urgency
of breaking the blockade grows by the day, as Palestinians living in this
prison are denied their most basic rights.

Our mission
will include two boats committed by a Turkish NGO plus a cargo ship purchased
with donations from the Malaysian people. This ship will be loaded with cement,
water filtration systems and paper - all essential reconstruction materials denied
entry to Gaza by Israel.

Free Gaza's
missions were the first to challenge Israel’s hermetic closing of Gaza when we
sailed two small boats into Gaza in August 2008. We did not ask permission of
Israel or Egypt to travel to Gaza and sailed directly from international waters
into the waters of Gaza. Since then, we have been the catalyst for
a growing international movement of civilian advocates, including the Gaza
Freedom March and Viva Palestina.

Of course we will face Israel’s
illegal naval blockade. But we have broken through it before and we will do it
again. We are writing to ask you to make sure the mission is funded and
publicized.

We sailed
four more successful missions to Gaza since August 2008, and we intend to come
back this year with a small flotilla, so you still have time to get boats and
come with us.  We are calling on
all NGOs, human rights organizations and communities around the world to join
us. If you already have funding for boats, we can provide the logistical and technical
advice on how get them ready to join the flotilla. If you want to help in
other ways, we have listed five below.

1. Fundraise for this trip. Consider organizing a big or small
   fundraiser in your community. We already have people available to speak at
   your events. http://www.freegaza.org/en/join-in/speaker-bureau.
   Friends returning from the Gaza Freedom March, or the Viva Palestina
   convoy can be especially helpful by turning report backs into fundraisers.
   
2. Get your community involved and turn this flotilla into a
   global effort. Our boats will carry building supplies and school supplies,
   both banned by Israeli authorities. Contribute by donating paper, ink or
   books for our Right to Read campaign: http://www.freegaza.org/right-to-read.
   If you can donate reconstruction supplies, please contact us. Get your
   children and their schools involved by having them write letters to
   children in Gaza that we will carry on our boats and deliver.
3. Publicize the trip. Once we have announced the date, help us
   get the message out to the media and to your elected officials to assure
   the passengers and boats will sail safely.
4. Ask your Member of Parliament/Congress to come with us. We
   already have MPs from South America, South Africa, Malaysia, Turkey and
   Europe who are going. If you have contacts with other high profile people,
   please let us know.
5. Volunteer as land crew, media or support crew in your
   countries.

To help, organize a fundraiser,
suggest passengers and offer support, please email us at friends@freegaza.org,
and we will follow up immediately. We have only two to three months
to finish organizing, raise the additional funds, and to set sail.

Join us as we sail together to
Gaza this spring!