Statement from former board members of Free Gaza movement
I received the following statement from the undersigned former board members of the Free Gaza movement:
As former board members of the Free Gaza movement (our terms ended in August, as outlined in a 22 September statement released by Free Gaza, though this was not immediately reflected in parts of the Free Gaza website), we are disappointed and frustrated by the message and video posted on the Free Gaza Twitter account entitled: “Zionists Ran the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps” and by the subsequent messaging posted by Greta Berlin on behalf of the new board of Free Gaza II. Although the tweet was deleted and Free Gaza II clarified that the posting was a mistake and pertinent context overlooked, we believe that the responses posted by Greta on behalf of Free Gaza II have been inadequate. Consultations and efforts made by some of the former members of the board with the current board members were either rejected or set aside, which has added to our disappointment. We had hoped that Greta would provide evidence of the context in which she says she posted the video, but her failure to do so has led us to now publicly voice our deep concern.
We unequivocally reject and distance ourselves from the tweeted video. Such anti-Semitism was never tolerated by Free Gaza or any of the people or groups with which we have worked. We condemn all forms of racism and prejudice, including anti-Semitism.
We continue to support initiatives to end Israel’s illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip and its occupation and colonial apartheid practices in Palestine as a whole. It is imperative to be vigilant against racism in all its forms. It is also vital to work for the freedom of all people, and in our efforts to support Palestinians, it is the universal struggle for freedom that has motivated, sustained and guided the efforts of Free Gaza.
- Huwaida Arraf
- Caoimhe Butterly
- Eliza Enshire
- Alex Harrison
- Fathi Jaouadi
- Ewa Jasiewicz
- Niamh Moloughney
- Adam Shapiro
Written FOR*Mondoweiss offers the following update …*Free Gaza Movement Twitter controversy leads Jewish Voice for Peace to distance itself from group
by Alex Kane
A Free Gaza movement boat as it approaches a port in Gaza (Photo: Free Gaza Movement/Flickr)
*
Greta Berin, a co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) has sparked a raging controversy by publishing Twitter posts linked to anti-Semitic material. The episode has been damaging to the Free Gaza Movement, which came to prominence after it repeatedly sent ships to break the blockade of Gaza.
Yesterday, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) distanced itself strongly from Berlin and the Free Gaza Movement. In its statement, JVP, which had sponsored an October 11 book event featuring Berlin in Los Angeles, said Sunday that “we are disassociating ourselves from sponsorship of Berlin’s current book tour in the U.S. or future endorsements of Free Gaza Movement actions.”
Naomi Klein, who served on the Free Gaza advisory board, tweeted on October 5,“I have resigned from the Advisory Board of the Free Gaza Movement. Still support mission but leadership has changed since I signed up.”
The debacle started when the Free Gaza Twitter account sent a message to thousands of followers that read: “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” Berlin controls the account. The same Twitter message linked to a video showing Eustace Mullins, a known anti-Semite.The video shows Mullins saying things like Hitler “allied with the Zionist Party and the mission of the Nazis was to force the anti-Zionist Jews to accept Zionism…So the concentration camps were run by the Zionist Jews in order to punish and get rid of the anti-Zionist Jews, which they did.”
Though FGM deleted the message after it generated attention, Avi Mayer, the head of social media for the Jewish Agency for Israel, saved a copy of the message andcreated a Storify piece on the controversy. The story blew up from there, with media outlets like the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the Jerusalem Post covering the controversy.
A series of apologies from Free Gaza followed, with Berlin claiming that she meant to send the video to a private Facebook group of people who “were discussing propaganda and racism.” The apology, from the Free Gaza Movement, continued: “This link was an example of the terrible propaganda that could be spewed on websites. For some reason, Facebook connected our Free Gaza account to [Berlin’s] personal Facebook account, and the link was posted.”
While JVP’s statement said they “appreciate Greta Berlin’s statements in response to the furor,” the group also said that “we unfortunately don’t think her responses adequately address our concern about circulating anti-semitic materials…We have been endorsers of the Free Gaza Movement and are proud to have been associated with their non-violent efforts as part of the Palestinian solidarity movement. We do not believe that the Free Gaza Movement is anti-semitic and understand that Greta Berlin’s tweets were her own and not representative of Free Gaza.”
+972 blogger Larry Derfner defended Berlin in a post, and also published an article detailing an interview he conducted with Berlin. In an email to Mondoweiss, Berlin claimed that the anti-Semitic video in question “was never posted in the group. because I didn’t change the settings to send it to that group and ended up posting it on my wall instead.” She pointed to a statement of 37 people published on 972which “verif[ied] that we have a small group and those are the things we talk about.”
The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah has cast doubt on Berlin’s apologies. The context that Berlin refers to “does not exist,” Abunimah writes. He based his claim on his access to a Facebook group that Berlin was the administrator of and where the video was posted.
Another 972 contributor, Tom Pessah, has also strongly criticized Berlin, pointing to a “pattern” of disturbing behavior from Berlin, including endorsing Gilad Atzmon, who has been denounced in numerous quarters, including the Palestine solidarity movement, for anti-Semitism. In her endorsement, Berlin said that Atzmon’s Jewish journey “makes me awfully glad I was raised a Methodist.”
The Free Gaza Twitter account, which Berlin controls, also sent out a separate post linking to an anti-Semitic film. Adam Holland, a pro-Israel blogger, discovered aSeptember 21 tweet from the Free Gaza account that read: “1943- Im Wald von Katyn,” with a downloadable link. Im Wald von Katyn is a film that was made by the Nazis. It was a propaganda tract that sought to blame Jews for carrying out a 1940 massacre of Polish nationals.
In an interview with Derfner, Berlin says that she doesn’t “recall seeing the movie or sending the tweet.” But a screenshot posted by Holland shows that Berlin shared it on Facebook.
The Free Gaza Twitter account has also tweeted out links to websites that claimed that “Mossad was behind ‘Sam Bacile’”, the name associated with the anti-Islam movie that lately caused such outrage in the Middle East.
Desertpeace 
robertsgt40 said,
October 9, 2012 at 17:59
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”–George Orwell
mary clyde said,
October 9, 2012 at 18:26
Have you seen this
October 7 – Gilad Atzmon
Abunimah Did It Again
Sunday, October 7, 2012 at 11:16PM Gilad Atzmon
By Gilad Atzmon
Is it really possible that not a single Palestinian or Palestinian solidarity activist would stand for Greta Berlin, one of the founders of the Free Gaza Movement and its spokesperson for the last several years? Is it possible that not a single peace activist would rush to defend the person who was directly and physically involved in every naval attempt to break the siege on Gaza? Apparently, yes.
A few days ago Greta Berlin had been subject to a vile Israeli and Zionist smear campaign following her facebook post containing the following message: “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews”. Berlin also added to her facebook post a link to a video of a lecture by Eustace Mullins. I am not familiar with the work of Mullins but I guess that he is far from being a popular political thinker in Tel Aviv or Golders Green.
Zionists and Hasbara agents were very quick to slander Berlin. They tagged her as an ‘anti Semite’ and a ‘Holocaust denier’. But clearly there is no Holocaust denial in Berlin’s message. Furthermore, the views expressed by her are consistent with many experts including Jewish Marxist archivist Lenni Brenner who tells the same story in his book 51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration With the Nazis. Hanna Arendt also reached a similar conclusion in her invaluable epic book A Report On The Banality Of Evil. I guess that Greta Berlin has a problem, unlike Arendt and Brenner: she’s not a Jew, she is a Shiktze, and Shiktzes better keep quiet. They are not supposed to talk, let alone tell the truth.
It didn’t take much Zionist pressure before the Free Gaza Movement grovelled and published a humiliating apology. It also didn’t take much time for the usual suspects within the movement to disassociate themselves from one of the most dedicated solidarity activists on the planet.
Yet, one would expect that after his recent failed attack on myself and my work, Kosher Commissar Ali Abuminah, would think twice before he allies himself with the darkest Zionist and Israeli Hasbara forces around.
Apparently, the man who managed to reduce the Intifada to an electronic outlet did it again. Today the dedicated Sabbath Goy criticised Berlin in the name of “trust and honesty.” It is almost funny considering the fact that Abunimah’s integrity record is probably one of the lowest in the history of resistance in general.
On top of being intellectually lame as clearly shown in the following video, the man also lacks some basic academic skills.
Just 48 hours before slandering my writing and my recent book, Abunimah was stupid enough to admit to Professor Norton Mezvinsky that he actually had never read anything by me. Today, once again, Abunimah proved that he doesn’t grasp the notion of history in general and certainly far from being familiar with the historicity of the Holocaust in particular.
Three weeks ago, Paul Larudee, another founding member of the Free Gaza movement, published a crucial expose that proved beyond doubt that BDS has given up on Palestinian Right of Return. A few days later, Nahida Izzat, my favourite Palestinian poet, published an urgent alert on the Uprooted Palestinian website:
“The BDS clearly changed its goal statement. BDS has given up on the most essential and crucial Palestinian principles.” She wrote.
But Ali Abunimah and his Electronic ‘Intifada’ remained silent. If Abunimah had a drop of integrity in his system he would have taken the challenge and discussed the BDS’s goal statement’s recent change. But Abunimah who has the audacity to preach us today on “trust and honesty” decided to shove the core Palestinian issue under the carpet.
The meaning of it all is pretty simple. As I disclose in my latest book The Wandering Who, there is a devastating continuum between hard core Zionism, Israeli Hasbara and the Jewish so-called ‘left’. Unfortunately, some Palestinians also operate as Sabbath Goyim. And they better be exposed.
It indeed didn’t take us by surprise to learn that Jewish Voice For Peace withdrew its support from Greta Berlin’s book tour and that Naomi Klein resigned from the board of Free Gaza. Needless to say that when I heard about the Zionist slandering of Greta Berlin I thought to myself that within less than a week Abunimah would join the party. I was wrong, in fact it took him less than 24 hours.
I don’t know who Abunimah’s pay masters are, but I guess it ain’t the Islamic Jihad.
desertpeace said,
October 9, 2012 at 18:51
Birds of a feather…..
Donna Bubb said,
October 9, 2012 at 19:04
This whole thing against Greta Berlin looks like a typical Zionist smear. How
sad that it’s getting support on Desert Peace.
Olander said,
October 9, 2012 at 19:39
Greta Berlin should not have posted the things she posted on her account. It was inappropriate and showed poor judgment, and consequently, lessened the impact of the Free Gaza movement on justice for Palestinians, which is of paramount concern.
As for Eustace Mullins, he is one of the research treasures of the United States, notwithstanding some pieces written which were ill-advised and outlandish. His research into the Federal Reserve system for Ezra Pound, as well as his excellent research on the medical cartel in the United States should not be impugned for a few pieces he wrote out of haste, having been attacked and investigated mercilessly by the FBI for what he believed was simply exposing the scam of the Federal Reserve and other truths. Of note, HL Mencken, Samuel Clemens and even Shakespeare wrote a few pieces which were not exactly kind to all. In a less politically correct world, they “called them the way they same them”.
Also note that among Mullins’ acquaintances, also students of Ezra Pound, were both Ernest Hemingway and T.S. Elliot. Hemingway, like Mullins, was also savaged by the FBI for truths he had written which were not so convenient. He was driven to suicide as a result (despite what your corrupt media spokesmen may have driveled on about).
desertpeace said,
October 9, 2012 at 20:56
she smeared herself.
Blake said,
October 9, 2012 at 21:27
I don’t agree at all. She never said anything that is untrue. I have become an admirer of hers and cannot stand this smear campaign you are running.
desertpeace said,
October 9, 2012 at 22:38
I am not running it Blake, she did this to herself.
Wallace said,
October 10, 2012 at 03:10
You disbelieve the fact that the Zionists and the German National Socialists had an agreement?
You have a problem with the fact that (for a time) the Zionists and the German National Socialists had the exact same goal: to get Jews to leave Europe and go to Palestine?
That’s your problem.
Why should Greta be chastised for speaking truth?
Lee said,
October 10, 2012 at 05:57
Perhaps Berlin sold out or was a shill from the beginning?
If she was a true harbinger of peace as strongly as she supported the people of Gaza, she would not have discredited Eustace Mullins. For me, that was the deal breaker. This furthers my distrust of those who say they are for peace, and especially those who are from the Tribe.