Video: ‘Rachel Corrie’ ship seized

posted at 9:45 am on June 5, 2010 by Ed Morrissey

A few days ago, the Israelis attempted to interdict a ship flotilla that had publicly declared its intention to run a military brigade. When the IDF boarded one of the ships, its crew began attacking the soldiers and started a bloody confrontation that left nine dead. Pro-Hamas activists sent another ship to run the blockade, the ‘Rachel Corrie,’ carrying 550 tons of cement for building projects. The IDF stopped this ship as well, but because no one on the ship attacked the IDF, no violence ensued:

A couple of thoughts about this. The CNN interviewer seems a bit of a fool. Yes, the Irish inspected the ship when it left port, but that doesn’t mean that other materials couldn’t have been transferred aboard the vessel after it left Irish waters. After all, there are actual overland means to transfer humanitarian materials into Gaza; Israel sends such materials through border crossings every day, unless Hamas is conducting attacks at the border itself. It doesn’t take a beach landing in Gaza to get cement to the Gazans, as the IDF spokeswoman patiently and repeatedly explains. That makes a blockade-running ship just a wee bit suspicious, and in any case, a blockade means ships don’t get to pass through.

Also, this episode should remind everyone that if it were up to Israel, there would be no war. If it was up to Hamas and Fatah, there would be no Israel. And that’s the main problem with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and one that is irreconcilable.

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Also, this episode should remind everyone that if it were up to Israel, there would be no war. If it was up to Hamas and Fatah, there would be no Israel. And that’s the main problem with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and one that is irreconcilable.

’nuff said…

ladyingray on June 5, 2010 at 9:48 AM

ANOTHER successful blockade interdiction…

Well done!

Khun Joe on June 5, 2010 at 9:48 AM

The CNN interviewer seems a bit of a fool.

Well , you repeat yourself.

the_nile on June 5, 2010 at 9:51 AM

if it were up to Israel, there would be no war. If it was up to Hamas and Fatah, there would be no Israel.

If only we could delete 20 yrs of Rev Wright’s sermons from Obama’s head, & replace them with these two sentences. If only.

itsnotaboutme on June 5, 2010 at 9:51 AM

This us unsustainable!

artist on June 5, 2010 at 9:52 AM

If Hamas disarms there will be peace, if Israel disarms there will be no more Israel.

truth.

ted c on June 5, 2010 at 9:53 AM

blockade.

Sustained.

Eat some crow Obama. Israel can keep this up all year.

….and you were saying…..?

ted c on June 5, 2010 at 9:54 AM

Their next move will be to probably force Israel to kill more people. What they’ll do is assemble a larger convoy than the first and try to ram through the blockade. If any ships get through, it’ll be a morale booster to the terrorists. And if more people get killed, maybe some ships get sunk, they get the same thing.

thekingtut on June 5, 2010 at 9:55 AM

BTW. IDF spokesgal is kinda cute.

ted c on June 5, 2010 at 9:56 AM

Why are those who plagiarized their monotheistic religion (AKA “Islam”) from the Jews so angry at those they stole from?

Usually the anger is from the one stolen from.

In effect, they are saying: “Why won’t our victim just vanish so our guilty conscience can be calmed?”

profitsbeard on June 5, 2010 at 9:59 AM

No one run over by a dozer?

Mr. Joe on June 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM

I must say that I am truly surprised that these latest terrorists and terrorist-loving monsters they’re always calling “passengers” could even contain their seething hatred this time around and not go off on autopilot with the steel pipes and the machetes and such…

Fuzzlenutter on June 5, 2010 at 10:01 AM

I don’t think martyrdom counts if you don’t take any infidels with you.

Seth Halpern on June 5, 2010 at 10:03 AM

Fuzzlenutter on June 5, 2010 at 10:01 AM

This Ship of Fools came out of Ireland and was full of pacifist useful idiots, not Turkish terrorists.

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 10:03 AM

I’m sorry, I still can’t believe the name of that ship.
This world is full of people who get it, Islamists, and utter fools.

ORconservative on June 5, 2010 at 10:05 AM

No one run over by a dozer?

Mr. Joe on June 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM

You cant win every time.

the_nile on June 5, 2010 at 10:05 AM

BTW. IDF spokesgal is kinda cute.

ted c on June 5, 2010 at 9:56 AM

Think that might be intentional? In case this clip might actually be aired on alJazeera, or something, the guys who get to look at burgas walking by every day, get sight of a hot Zionist chick? And wonder what they’ll get in the arranged marriage sweepstakes?

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 10:09 AM

Bibi has more balls than Bambi and his entire cabinet.

katy the mean old lady on June 5, 2010 at 10:10 AM

Maybe these Pro-Hamas activists should name the next ship they send to run the blockade the “HELEN THOMAS”.

And may the IDF sink it on the spot!

pilamaye on June 5, 2010 at 10:10 AM

How typical that they would name the ship “Rachel Corrie” – that in itself is provocative.

disa on June 5, 2010 at 10:11 AM

Maybe these Pro-Hamas activists should name the next ship they send to run the blockade the “HELEN THOMAS”.

And may the IDF sink it on the spot!

pilamaye on June 5, 2010 at 10:10 AM

ROFL!

disa on June 5, 2010 at 10:11 AM

The Rachel Corrie is the peaceful decoy.

Jocundus on June 5, 2010 at 10:12 AM

OH geez, never mind, just read that Bill Ayers was involved in the incident where the 9 people were killed. It’s over at GP.
Obama needs to be impeached. Not for the usual stuff but because he is allowing the march to wipe Isreal off the map.
After all the Impeach GWB I never ever wanted to say that about a POTUS but this is outrageous.

ORconservative on June 5, 2010 at 10:15 AM

Maybe these Pro-Hamas activists should name the next ship they send to run the blockade the “HELEN THOMAS”.

And may the IDF sink it on the spot!

pilamaye on June 5, 2010 at 10:10 AM

They would have to sink it. No man in their right mind would want to get on Helen Thomas.

ThePrez on June 5, 2010 at 10:17 AM

In case this clip might actually be aired on alJazeera, or something, the guys who get to look at burgas walking by every day, get sight of a hot Zionist chick? – Wethal

AND she’s a Lt. Col.! If any burka-clad women are allowed to watch TV see this, they might just they might just start to question their own slavery.

Tony737 on June 5, 2010 at 10:18 AM

Maybe these Pro-Hamas activists should name the next ship they send to run the blockade the “HELEN THOMAS”.

It would have to be a scow(l)

The SS Joe Biden would be a dingy.

The SS Obama would be a junk.

William Amos on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

Thank you Bibi for not caving. I am thankful no one was hurt this time. God be with you Israel.
L

letget on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

OT but related, I was just on HuffPo reading all the comments defending the nasty anti-Semite Helen Thomas. No surprise, of course, since the left’s problem with this is well known. It’s just so ironic given that they consider me a racist for opposing the president’s programs.

juliesa on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

The Rachel Corrie is the peaceful decoy.

Jocundus on June 5, 2010 at 10:12 AM

PM Erdogan of Turkey is talking about being aboard the next blockade runner from Turkey. With the Turkish Navy escorting it. No doubt noise for domestic political consumption, but still scary.

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

Next up the MV Helen Thomas, sailing into Haifa for a one way cruise to Hamburg and Gdynia.

JEM on June 5, 2010 at 10:20 AM

BTW. IDF spokesgal is kinda cute.

ted c on June 5, 2010 at 9:56 AM

After what seems like months of staring at Helen Thomas’ photo we needed a break.

William Amos on June 5, 2010 at 10:21 AM

.

The CNN interviewer seems a bit of a fool.

My English teacher would’ve put a “P.O.” next to that phrase!

Painfully obvious.

.

Joan of Argghh on June 5, 2010 at 10:21 AM

Israel should impound the Rachel Corrie, then melt it down and give it to Caterpillar to make more bulldozers.

TugboatPhil on June 5, 2010 at 10:24 AM

Surprise, surprise! You meet force WITH force, the thugs back down. The Palestinians get their asses kicked again. The people who live to play victim at the behest of their fellow Arabs. Palestinians, aka ‘losers’.

GarandFan on June 5, 2010 at 10:25 AM

Hang tough, Bibi. You are the leader of the free world.

Disturb the Universe on June 5, 2010 at 10:27 AM

“…after the tragedy of last week.”

What tragedy was there? That 648 virgins were taken off the market??

KGB on June 5, 2010 at 10:33 AM

Why cement? Why not import consumer goods like TVs, satellite dishes, wireless internet, laptops, tons of video games, toilets, fridges, dishwashers, and air conditioners? Oh right – Hamas doesn’t want their slaves people becoming comfortable.

I wonder if the Israeli authorities served breakfast to the people on the ship – including pancakes.

KillerKane on June 5, 2010 at 10:33 AM

KillerKane on June 5, 2010 at 10:33 AM

Because the Israelis do bar cement and pipes, which can be used for making bombs, sniper posts near the border, fortifications in smuggling tunnels, etc.

This was intentional provocation by the Irish “peace activists.”

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 10:38 AM

The CNN interviewer seems a bit of a fool.

That youngster is their “senior international correspondent”???

itsnotaboutme on June 5, 2010 at 10:41 AM

Wouldn’t it be really easy to hide weapons in dry cement mix?

OxyCon on June 5, 2010 at 10:42 AM

CNN again offers an idiot to do the interview. He kept trying to place words in her mouth. He couldn’t stop twisting her answers.
Israel can inspect anything they wish. They do not have to have another country do it for them. The Muslims always push the line. They can’t be trusted. Israel has daily delivery of goods using land routes. This is just a stunt for publicity.

seven on June 5, 2010 at 10:42 AM

I just wish these news reporters would take the same adversarial approach with whoever the opposition spokesman is (typically not “spokespeople” when it comes to radical Islam, is it?).

Don’t mind those types of questions when they are asked of both sides.

cranbone on June 5, 2010 at 10:53 AM

William Amos on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything in my mouth when I read this. :)

chemman on June 5, 2010 at 11:00 AM

What an annoying reprter! She was as clear as could be about the whys and wherefores yet he presses on for no apparent reason other than his own inability to understand what she’s saying.

princetrumpet on June 5, 2010 at 11:00 AM

William Amos on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything in my mouth when I read this. +1

chemman on June 5, 2010 at 11:00 AM

Also, this episode should remind everyone that if it were up to Israel, there would be no war. If it was up to Hamas and Fatah, there would be no Israel.

That’s the money quote. The Helen Thomas’s of the world just want the Jews to hold still so they can be killed or shuffled about the world in an endless pogrom.

Mojave Mark on June 5, 2010 at 11:05 AM

You mean they didn’t board the ship and just start shooting?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Israel +1000
Condeming world – 0

gophergirl on June 5, 2010 at 11:09 AM

Torpedo any boat that refuses to redirect and keep all captured passengers captive until Gilad Shalit is released.

Too extreme maybe?

You-Eh-Vee on June 5, 2010 at 11:11 AM

Does the left really know the difference between inspection and interdiction, or flotilla and Naval Task group? I sense they do.

Because, there was a deliberate choice to use more subtle and P.C. terms to hide the actual intentions of a Task Force of ships flying flags of other nations, carrying terrorist warriors disguised as peaceful passengers who kill 9 people armed with paint ball weapons to insure no harm to those on-board.

MSGTAS on June 5, 2010 at 11:18 AM

Given the name, they should have run the ship over with a bulk freighter…

quikstrike98 on June 5, 2010 at 11:32 AM

Yes, the Irish inspected the ship when it left port, but that doesn’t mean that other materials couldn’t have been transferred aboard the vessel after it left Irish waters.

I wouldn’t trust the Irish, the German, etc etc with my OWN security either. What a joke.

CWforFreedom on June 5, 2010 at 11:38 AM

Re ‘Give Peace a Chance’ [Jay Nordlinger]

Onboard the MV Rachel Corrie is Denis Halliday, the U.N. man who was in charge of the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq. He resigned, saying U.N. sanctions were “genocide.” He is not the type to be concerned about what the likes of Saddam Hussein do. Also onboard the Corrie is Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1976. She and Betty Williams won for opposing the violence in Northern Ireland: It was a worthy award.

Maguire is an old anti-Israel hand. She accuses Israel of running an “apartheid system.” She was hit by a rubber bullet when protesting the Israelis’ security fence. She has made a pet of Mordechai Vanunu, the man who spilled Israel’s nuclear secrets: met him upon his release from prison. She accuses the Israelis of “ethnic cleansing.” Blah, blah, blah. You know the type: Maguire is hard-core, like Helen Thomas.

And her views of America are essentially those of Noam Chomsky. You can see this, hear this, in most any of her speeches. She even opposed the Nobel prize to Barack Obama, vociferously! She said, “Giving this award to the leader of the most militarized country in the world, which has taken the human family against its will to war, will be rightly seen by many people around the world as a reward for his country’s aggression and domination.”

And her co-laureate, Betty Williams? You may remember her from the George W. Bush years. In 2006, she told Australian schoolchildren, “I have a very hard time with this word ‘non-violence,’ because I don’t believe that I am nonviolent. Right now, I would love to kill George W. Bush. I don’t know how I ever got a Nobel Peace Prize . . .”

A one-time deal, a crazed moment? Well, she performed an encore the next year, in Dallas, speaking to the International Women’s Peace Conference: “I mean, right now, I could kill George Bush, no problem. No, I don’t mean that. I mean, how could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that.” Big laughs — from her and the audience.

Charming, these Irish ladies who win the Nobel Peace Prize.

NRO.

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 11:39 AM

Oh and Israel is likely wondering how much they should trust Obama.

CWforFreedom on June 5, 2010 at 11:39 AM

Torpedo any boat that refuses to redirect and keep all captured passengers captive until Gilad Shalit is released.

Too extreme maybe?

You-Eh-Vee on June 5, 2010 at 11:11 AM

I’d say that it’s just about right.

myrenovations on June 5, 2010 at 11:44 AM

Pro-Hamas activists sent another ship to run the blockade, the ‘Rachel Corrie,’ carrying 550 tons of cement for building projects.

Are we certain it wasn’t Bisquick for a memorial pancake breakfast?

James on June 5, 2010 at 11:49 AM

The CNN interviewer seems a bit of a fool.

..on the other hand, LtCol Liebovitch seems quite the hottie for her rank and age. Smart too.

The War Planner on June 5, 2010 at 11:49 AM

If only we could delete 20 yrs of Rev Wright’s sermons from Obama’s head, & replace them with these two sentences. If only. itsnotaboutme on June 5, 2010 at 9:51 AM

Obama never heard The Reverend Wright say anything when he was in the pews of his church……………How did Obama ever get elected?

SC.Charlie on June 5, 2010 at 11:55 AM

Wow, they actually named a ship Rachel Corrie. I wasn’t paying attention earlier.

reaganaut on June 5, 2010 at 11:56 AM

Pro-Hamas activists sent another ship to run the blockade, the ‘Rachel Corrie,’ carrying 550 tons of cement for building projects Hamas bunkers.

FIFY

agmartin on June 5, 2010 at 12:00 PM

On a side note, maybe these Euro, Jew-hating, phony peaceniks should turn their attention to fixing their own failed nations and ( I don’t even know what to call the EU at this point).

All these global citizens fail to realize that if they let their own houses rot, while they worry about what their neighbor is doing, the ‘hood is still crap.

reaganaut on June 5, 2010 at 12:02 PM

Israel should impound the Rachel Corrie, then melt it down and give it to Caterpillar to make more bulldozers.

TugboatPhil on June 5, 2010 at 10:24 AM

+1

Doorgunner on June 5, 2010 at 12:09 PM

I wonder what would have happened if Hamas had bothered to maintain and improve the infrastructure base that the Israelis left behind when they vacated Gaza? What the Palestinian leadership fails miserably to understand(or perhaps finds it in their best interests not to)is that no insitiution can survive on hate forever though these have certainly been doing it for a long time. How little it would take for this part of the world to become successful. The Muslims will not let it happen and I suspect there’s more to it than religious dictates. Power and money for the leadership perhaps? Just askin’.

jeanie on June 5, 2010 at 12:13 PM

I think bad publicity all around begets non-violence far more effectively.

abobo on June 5, 2010 at 12:43 PM

PM Erdogan of Turkey is talking about being aboard the next blockade runner from Turkey. With the Turkish Navy escorting it. No doubt noise for domestic political consumption, but still scary.

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

That WOULD be interesting…

My money’s STILL on Israel…

Khun Joe on June 5, 2010 at 12:50 PM

The good ship Rachel Corrie was boarded. How is the ship Irma Grice doing?

RobCon on June 5, 2010 at 12:53 PM

Rachel Corrie is a perfect name for that ship, as the original Rachel Corrie was also a tool for terror propagandists.

Despite our useless president calling the blockade “unsustainable”, the Israeli-Egyptian sea blockade of Hamastan simply has to be sustained, and backed by the global civilized community for multiple obvious reasons, not least of which is preventing Iran from establishing a Gazan port.

Edouard on June 5, 2010 at 1:01 PM

The SS Obama would be a junk.

William Amos on June 5, 2010 at 10:19 AM

The SS Obama would have two port sides and no starboard. The rudder would only turn left.

Tav on June 5, 2010 at 1:26 PM

Israel should impound the Rachel Corrie, then melt it down and give it to Caterpillar to make more bulldozers.

TugboatPhil on June 5, 2010 at 10:24 AM

Do so with every ship that attempts to run the blockade. A ready source of steel!

IrishEyes on June 5, 2010 at 1:28 PM

At The Corner, Mark Steyn brings our attention to this piece by Tom Gross called “The Forgotten Rachels.” Written in 2005, it is even more timely today:

Rachel Thaler, aged 16, was blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall. She died after an 11-day struggle for life following a suicide bomb attack on a crowd of teenagers on 16 February 2002.

Even though Thaler was a British citizen, born in London, where her grandparents still live, her death has never been mentioned in a British newspaper.

Powerline.

Wethal on June 5, 2010 at 1:40 PM

These terrorists must be desperate. They let the Irish chick talk and secondly her head wasn’t covered.

Dr. ZhivBlago on June 5, 2010 at 1:41 PM

Gee…that CNN “journalist” should learn to hide his bias a little better…

CCRWM on June 5, 2010 at 1:48 PM

I thought Obama said the blockade was not sustainable. It seems no one was in the mood to be a martyr this time.

Terrye on June 5, 2010 at 2:05 PM

Torpedo any boat that refuses to redirect and keep all captured passengers captive until Gilad Shalit is released.

Too extreme maybe?

You-Eh-Vee on June 5, 2010 at 11:11 AM

Maybe?

Need I remind you that an overzealous submarine commander was responsible for the entry of the US into a world war?

Dark-Star on June 5, 2010 at 4:58 PM

Great post, Ed.

-Aslan’s Girl

Aslans Girl on June 5, 2010 at 6:41 PM

Need I remind you that an overzealous submarine commander was responsible for the entry of the US into a world war?

Dark-Star on June 5, 2010 at 4:58 PM

Ugh. If you’re referring to WWI, it wasn’t a single submarine commander, but rather the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare adopted by the German government.

ddrintn on June 6, 2010 at 12:22 PM

The IDF stopped this ship as well, but because no one on the ship attacked the IDF, no violence ensued

I guess one Darwin Award was enough.

percysunshine on June 6, 2010 at 1:32 PM