Katherine Sheetz returns to Woods Hole
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By: Elise R. Hugus
Published: 06/04/10
Katherine Sheetz was on her fourth attempted mission with Free Gaza
A part-time resident who was on the Free Gaza flotilla raided by the Israeli military on Monday will return to Woods Hole this evening.
Katherine E. Sheetz, 63, a registered nurse and freelance videographer who divides her time between California, Woods Hole, and humanitarian missions in Gaza and Haiti, was on her fourth voyage with the international coalition Free Gaza, a group dedicated to breaking Israel’s blockade of the isolated Palestinian territory.
At least nine people were killed during the raid on two of the group’s six ships, each carrying hundreds of passengers and thousands of pounds of building, medical, and school supplies. The raid took place in the Mediterranean Sea, about 40 miles off the Gazan coast in international waters.
After spending three days in detention in Israel, Ms. Sheetz and 500 other passengers of various national origins were deported to Turkey, according to her husband, Steven Greaves, of Richmond, California. Ms. Sheetz called from Istanbul early Thursday morning to let her family know she was safe, but that her videography equipment, money, credit cards, cellphone, and other personal items had been kept by the Israeli Defense Force.
Mr. Greaves provided a transcript of their conversation, in which Ms. Sheetz details what she witnessed on board the Challenger 1, the smallest boat in the flotilla.
The dawn attack came just as Muslim observers were saying their morning prayers, she said. “It was just brutal, their attack was so frightening and vicious. They were shooting so much,” she said. “Some of the men on deck at the time tried to defend themselves, tearing off pieces of railing and throwing bolts at them. The reports I’ve seen about knives in passengers’ hands are lies.”
Since news of the raid broke on Monday, Ms. Sheetz’s children, Courtney and Jonathan Sheetz, have made phone calls to the State Department from their home in Woods Hole. They will meet their mother at JFK Airport in New York this afternoon.
Courtney Sheetz, who joined her mother on the group’s first and only successful mission to the Gaza Strip in 2008, said the news of the deadly raid came as a shock on Monday morning.
“I wasn’t even concerned for her safety at that point, because [the boats] were in international waters,” she said, calling for an international investigation into the incident.
With no direct access to Ms. Sheetz while she was in detention, the family relied on online video footage for proof that she was alive.
“Once I saw her in the video walking, it was confirmation enough that she’s okay. I won’t know what to think until I talk to her,” said Courtney Sheetz.
The events of the past week have sparked international debate on Israel’s actions, as well as a larger discussion on the legality of the three-year embargo on Gaza.
In an e-mail to the Enterprise before her ship left Cyprus on May 25, Ms. Sheetz wrote her reasons for joining the trip to Gaza, 10 months after she was deported from Israel for taking part in another Free Gaza voyage.
“I am not for this blockade of 1.5 million people which is, frankly, an act of war. The fact that Israel controls [Gaza’s] land, sea, and air makes them occupiers, so we are demanding free passage as Israel should be held responsible for the well-being of those they occupy,” wrote Ms. Sheetz, who joined several European and Israeli members of parliament on the mission.
14 Responses to "Katherine Sheetz returns to Woods Hole "
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Send her back to her terrorist friends!
No one should feel sorry for Kathy. She knew what she was getting herself into. There are other ways to support Gaza. I love how the "victims" make it seem like Israel just "jumped on board and started shooting everyone". Look at the videos, they were getting beat with poles and bolts thrown at them. Watch more video, you'll see Arabs love throwing rocks and bolts at people... Gaza is controlled by Hamas... we all know who they are and who they're connected to. These people denounce Israel, it's right to exist and they promote violence. Who in this earth has the right to denounce ANYONES right to exist? What different are they from Hitler? Does Israel not have the right to protect itself? These terrorists would drop a nuke on Israel the first chance they get... Since the beginning people have been trying to exterminate the Jewish people and Israel.
If Israel feels like there is a possible threat to it's security on that flotilla, then they SHOULD board it and investigate. Look at the U.S., these terrorists slipped right under our noses and killed thousands of people. They will continue to kill people and resort to violence.
If you look at the independent videos shot of the incident it is evident that Israeli soldiers were beaten and attacked before their feet touched the deck. There is footage of one Israeli being thrown overboard from the ship's highest deck. As "The Truth" says, Gaza is controlled by Hamas, a known terrorist group committed to Israel's destruction. As to Ms. Sheetz's quotes about acts of war, is it not an act of war to have missiles shot into Israel on a constant basis? Israel provides means for the people of Gaza to receive humanitarian aid. Perhaps Ms. Sheetz would to better to work with the Israelis getting aid to the innocent people of Gaza, who are really the victims of Hamas's agenda.
If Israel were only concerned about possible security threats and actually gave a crap about the people of Gaza they would inspect the cargo and if they found no weapons, they would let the ship go through. In reality, Gaza is a prison camp run by the Israelis. No one goes in our out without Israel's permission. The confiscated building supplies and medical equipment will almost certainly never get to Gaza because these are on the list of banned supplies for some unknown reason. Israel does not want Gaza to rebuild or thrive. Israel keeps Gaza on a "diet", meaning only a meager amount of supplies go through, barely enough to survive on, if that, in order to keep the Gazans thinking only of survival rather than reprisal. This is a crime against humanity. It is also collective punishment, banned under international law. I don't like Hamas but my tax dollars don't go toward propping up Hamas. They do support Israel and I should have a say as to how those dollars are used in my name. The sad thing is that Israel's actions will only cause more Arab anger and create more volatility and less security. Exactly the opposite of what Israel states it wants.
Katherine Sheetz is a hero performing a genuine humanitarian mission to the immiserated people of Gaza. Israel has lost its collective mind. Its outrages are without boundaries. Israel has no right to stop, board and confiscate items in international waters. This was done by heavily armed and masked commandos under cover of night. Witnesses say they began shooting before entering the boat. Those on bard had every right to defend themselves against a much more powerful force in the same way that we have a right to prevent an intrusion into our homes by hostile forces. The blockade of Gaza itself is a war crime in violation of the Fourth Geneva Accord. As a Jew, I have never been a Zionist. Zionism and the occupation are the root causes of the tension and the conflict between Palestinians and Israeli's. Israel should gather its collective soul, apologize for its original sin of violently dispossing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the formation of what is really a white, colonial, settler state, stop settlement expansion, dismantle existing settlements in the West Bank and end the occupation allowing for a contiguous Palestinain state within the international consensus and recently reflected in the Saudi Plan. Hamas, which Israel helped create as a counterbalance to the corrupt Fatah, (recall Israel wouldn't accept the PLO for many years either until they were coopted, Hamas can't be bought) is the legitimate government representative of the Palestinian people and it has a right and a duty to protect the population from the violence of a mch more powerful and aggressive opponent. In this respect, it has as much right to weapons as the government of Israel. However, there were no weapons on the aid flotilla, it had already been expected. The blockade is merely action which seeks to punish Gazans for voting the wrong way in a free and fair election. Rather than turning Gazans against Hamas, the blockade has enhanced the power and prestige of Hamas and stiffened resistance while making Israel into a pariah state. Nobody likes a bully and the sooner Israel realizes that the path to peace is reconciliation, the sooner it will be welcomed back into the family of nations. In the meantime, the US should cease giving Israel the 8 million a day we provide in aid. Without it, Israel would not be able to continue with its outrages, but I'm not holding my breath. Thanks for telling us about the heroic work of Ms Sheetz.
@rossblue "Witnesses say they began shooting before entering the boat." you have to be careful with your statements. "began shooting before entering the boat"???? do you think that Israel just sent commandos at night to just jump on board and start shooting everyone for no reason????????
Why was the other ship carrying aid, "The Rachel Corrie", boarded peacefully and no one hurt? Does this not say anything about the actions of the passengers aboard the flotilla that Kathy was on? The Israeli commandos boarded the flotilla with PAINTBALL GUNS in their hands and handguns on their waste in case a situation like that was going to happen. If Israel doesn't maintain the blockade, Gaza will become an "Iranian port" and Hamas missiles will strike Tel Aviv and Jerusalem at their first opportunity. We all know that there are or have been or will be weapons on these boats. Why is IRAN offering to escort now? This folitilla was basically a trap that Israel fell for.
Rossblue & Jack(ass)25 should take Katherine & move to the Gaza strip with the terrorists and the rest of the bleeding heart liberals.
@ Ribeye - Thanks for the articulate and intelligent addition to the discussion!!
You're welcome!!!
PS Take Obama with you. PLEASE!
Turkey is an ALLY of Israel, there was no weapons on board any of the flotilla vessels. The Israeli *video* you saw, was edited and pieced together from video STOLEN from passengers on board those vessels. ALL video, cell phones, cameras, memory sticks were confiscated from the passengers by the IDF on board those vessels. Israel has even admitted to editing the audio footage taped before the mess up by the IDF, they claim it was to make it easier to understand, HUH? The blockade is illegal, as per the UN, Amnesty International and other internationally recognized organizations. The pre-illegal blockade aid amount getting into Gaza is 75% less than before the blockade. NO weapons were found on board ANY of the vessels. NONE. RIBEYE, you do not have the right to tell others to move to Gaza because they do not agree with you, what a CHILDISH thing to do. The operation that the IDF took part in was in International waters, Israel is acting like a rogue nation that has no respect for international law, and yet expects other nations (their allies included) to have respect for theirs, it just does NOT work like that.
There is room for you to go also Agnes! Bye bye have a nice trip.