Gaza Freedom March Planned for One-Year Anniversary of Israeli Assault; Includes Transcript.

Democracy Now!
With Amy Goodman



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"This weekend marks that one-year anniversary of the start of Israel’s three-week assault on the Gaza Strip that killed some 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis. To mark the occasion, a group of over nearly 1,400 individuals from over forty countries around the world are aiming to break the siege of Gaza and participate in a nonviolent march inside Gaza alongside thousands of Palestinians. We speak with Hedy Epstein, an eighty-five-year-old Holocaust survivor who is taking part in the march, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and part of the coordinating committee of the Gaza Freedom March.......

....One year later, little to no rebuilding has taken place and Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza continues. Since the end of its assault, Israel has only allowed 41 truckloads of construction materials into Gaza. A new report by leading humanitarian and human rights groups says thousands of truckloads are required to repair the thousands of buildings destroyed by Israel’s military assault on Gaza. The report accuses the international community of not doing enough to end Israel’s blockade and of betraying the nearly 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza strip.

Next week a group of over nearly 1,400 individuals from over 40 countries around the world are aiming to break the siege of Gaza and participate in a non-violent march inside Gaza alongside thousands of Palestinians. It’s dubbed the Gaza Freedom March and we’re joined now by one of the many Americans on this march. Hedy Epstein is an 85-year old Holocaust survivor who was born in Germany. She’s also a committed anti-Zionist activist and has made five solidarity trips to the West Bank. Hedy Epstein joins us now from St. Louis, Missouri.

Earlier this week Egypt threatened to block the Gaza Freedom March from crossing into Gaza from Egypt. For the latest on this we’re joined on the line from Cairo by Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Codepink, and part of the co-ordinating committee of the Gaza Freedom March.

Hedy Epstein, member of the Gaza Freedom March. She’s an eighty-five-year-old Holocaust survivor who was born in Germany. She’s also a committed anti-Zionist activist and has made five solidarity trips to the West Bank.

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and part of the coordinating committee of the Gaza Freedom March"