The ship symbolizes the spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel’s collective punishment and starvation policies, says Ann Wright.
The Madleen on Sunday before departing Catania, Sicily. (Tan Safi /Freedom Flotilla )
The Gaza Flotilla sailboat Madleen set off from Catania, Sicily, Italy on Sunday for a seven-day voyage to Gaza to break the 40-year illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and now to stop the 600-day genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
The Madleen and her 12-person crew and participants departed Sicily, about 4pm Central European Summer Time on Sunday, following four very successful community events in Catania, each event having several hundred members of the local community attending.
The Madleen, named after Gaza’s first and only professional fisherwoman, is a symbol of the unyielding spirit of Palestinian resilience and the growing global resistance to Israel’s use of collective punishment and deliberate starvation policies.
We are sailing now on the Madleen to Gaza to #breakthesiege and create a people’s humanitarian corridor! ?????? All well for now! Filled with love and solidarity from the people of Catania! 7 days to Gaza! #AllEyesOnDeck pic.twitter.com/itlkWN7u1F
— Thiago Ávila | Gaza Freedom Flotilla (@thiagoavilabr) June 1, 2025
Her launch comes just one month after Israeli drones bombed Conscience, another Freedom Flotilla aid ship, in international waters off the coast of Malta — underscoring both the urgency and the danger of this mission to break the siege on Gaza.
The Israeli military bombed the Conscience as the flotilla coalition was ready to board around 35 participants onto the ship. The bombing occurred hours following the flight of an Israeli military C-130 Hercules aircraft around Malta.
A tug vessel sprays water to extinguish a fire aboard The Conscience, a a ship from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla during a nighttime emergency on May 2. (Wikimedia Commons /Public Domain)
In international complicity of stopping the Conscience from departing Malta, the U.S. government no doubt put pressure on the small Pacific island of Palau, which is dependent on U.S. funding through the Compact of Free Association, to cancel the flag and certification of the Conscience, which was done in the afternoon of May 1, only hours before the Israeli military bombed the Conscience.
Madleen is carrying urgently needed supplies for the people of Gaza, including baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women’s sanitary products, water desalination kits, medical supplies, crutches, and children’s prosthetics.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition emphasizes that this is a peaceful act of civil resistance. All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence. They are sailing unarmed, united by the shared belief that Palestinians deserve the same rights, freedom, and dignity as all people.
A supporter in Catania, Sicily, holding the flag of Palestine on Sunday as the Gaza Freedom Flotilla’s Madleen departed for Gaza. (Tan Safi /Freedom Flotilla )
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition calls on:
- Governments to guarantee safe passage for Madleen and all humanitarian vessels;
- Media outlets to report on this mission with accuracy and integrity;
- People of conscience everywhere to reject silence and take action for Gaza.
Those onboard the Madleen are:
1. Mark Van Rennes (crew) The Netherlands
2. Reva Seifert Viard (crew) France
3. Pascal Maurieras (crew) France
4. Sergio Toribio (crew) Spain
5. Thiago Ávila (Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee) (Brazil)
6. Yasemin Acar (Freedom Flotilla Steering Committee) (Germany)
7. Rima Hassan (European Parliamentarian) France
8. Greta Thunberg (climate activist) Sweden
9. Yanis M’Hamdi (journalist) France
10. Suayb Ordu (engineer) Turkey
11. Omar Fayad (Al Jazeera reporter) France
12. Baptiste Andre (Doctor) France
[U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has viciously attacked the flotilla, targeting Greta Thunberg in particular:]
Hope Greta and her friends can swim!https://t.co/Noab4QyJtV
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 1, 2025
Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years and served in US embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. She resigned from the U.S. government 22 years ago in March 2003 in opposition to the U.S. war on Iraq. She is a member of CODEPINK, Veterans For Peace, Women Cross DMZ and many other peace groups. She is the co-author of Dissent: Voices of Conscience.
Views expressed in this article and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
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No doubt, Greta Thuneberg’s & Company’s mission to Save Gaza from Israel’s occupation, is all about “learning to sail through rough seas.” Beginning w/Plan A: “An unexpected Disaster.” May 1, 2025, the Freedom Flotilla, Conscience, “bombed” before it ever set sail, to Gaza.
Followed by Plan B: “Seven (7) Days To Gaza!” One month later, another Freedom Flotilla, Madleen, w/a “crew of 12 (+) participants,” set sail, in international waters. Madleen’s destination, Gaza. Madleen’s mission, “to break the 40-year illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and now to stop the 600-day genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” by creating, upon arrival, a humanitarian corridor. “So, good on paper. So, righteous. So, bold.” IMO, So, Doomed!!! i.e., June 3, 2025, Madleen’s “Crew” calls for action, “HELP!” Drone hovering, flying overhead! (S.O.S. (…—-….)!!!”
And, the response, fm MSM is basically, “Good Luck!” As disingenuous as $enator Lindsay “Lady Gray” Graham’s, “Hope Greta and her friends can swim.” “Buhlieve me,” the USG’s muckity-mucks are in favor of the Madleen’s demise.
Today, June 4, 2025, the good news is “the Crew is safe.” The Madleen sails on, to Gaza. ETA, Sunday, 6.8.25, “Thank you to everyone who shared our live updates and supported those on the Madleen,” the group said. “This is a peaceful act of civil resistance. All volunteers and crew aboard Madleen are trained in nonviolence.”
No, offense; but, “trained in nonviolence,” sounds like everyone, on board, sailed through a course in “The Speed of Trust;” skipping the course in Emotional Intelligence, “the ability to recognize, understand & manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. A skill set which help in navigating social interactions effectively.”
Not for nothing; but, “People of conscience, everywhere, [REJECT] silence; and, [ARE] taking action for Gaza,” & ARE being met w/RESISTANCE!!! No doubt, “people of conscience, everywhere,” are aware that “Israel’s military is prepared to block the Madleen, as it sails toward Gaza, i.e., *Brigadier General Effie Defrin, an Israeli army spokesperson, said: “We are prepared… we will act accordingly,” adding that the navy has “gained experience in recent years.”
The Freedom Flotilla’s Coalition, Madleen, responded by reaffirming the peaceful nature of the mission. “Together, we can open a people’s sea corridor to Gaza,” it said on X. Everybody, knows, “Safe Passage,” on land, in the air; &/or, on the sea, is NOT guaranteed. Begs the question, is the “Madleen,” a smart risk or a disaster waiting to happen? No doubt, “People of conscience, everywhere,” echo, “May the force be w/the Freedom Flotilla’s coalition.”
TY, Ann Wright, CN. “Onward & Upwards!”
*”Drones seen hovering over Gaza-bound aid ship Madleen,” @ hxxps://trt.global/world/article/505bb953ef9b
“I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.”
Emiliano Zapata
Hello, Valerie,
No doubt, “The Crew” knows “the potential sacrifice.” Obviously, what makes their living, “sailing through rough seas,” worthwhile, is potentially, “Releasing The Dragon!!!” ETA: 6.8.25. “When the prison doors are opened, the real dragon will fly out.” [Suggesting] “that when individuals are finally released from confinement or oppression, their true potential & strength will be revealed. The quote highlights the idea that adversity and struggle can often act as catalysts for personal growth & transformation.” Ho Chi Minh.
But, “reality”rocks, in the good, gorgeous man’s truth, “They Always Kill the Socrates.” Oliver Stone, 5.25.25.
No doubt, “People of conscience, everywhere,” know the USG & Israel are “loaded for bear!” Pray for Gaza. “May the force be w/the Freedom Flotilla’s coalition.” There really are “Angels” on earth.
……“If I must die, you must live to tell my story, to sell my things. to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze–and bid no one farewell; not even to his flesh; not even to himself–sees the kite! My kite. You made, flying up above; &, thinks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love. If I must die. let it bring hope. let it be a tale.” Refaat Alareer (1979 – 2023).
“Just five weeks prior to his killing, 12.6.23, he shared his poem titled “If I must die.” Refaat Alareer pinned it to his Twitter profile.” AND, it is narrated w/reverence, love, beauty @ The CH Report, “Letter to Refaat Alareer.” Narrator, Eunice Wong @ hxxps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ScmVlnNKD_o&pp=ygUoQ2hyaXMgaGVkZ2VzIFJlZmFhdCBBbGFyZWVyICBldW5pY2Ugd29uZw%3D%3D
TY, Valerie, et al., “Keep It Lit!”
Such brave people. I’m following their progress on the “tracker”. They even stopped/detoured to help some migrants in difficulty the other day.
Thank you Ann Wright,
Responding to update from Madleen:
‘We can clearly see a drone to our left. It’s gaining on us a little bit. Please share this alert,’ a life-vest wearing activist said in the worrying video.
For slick drones that want to sneak in on Madleen at close range, the old bird shooter over-and-under shotgun ‘shoots a pattern big as a washtub ; they don’t get away, it’s like having two guns in one.’
The ‘Food Hub’ body count is now at 102+. BRAVO to Madleen crew members!
There just HAS TO BE a way of breaking israel’s ‘knees’…by any means…whatever it might take.
This is a doomed mission and will solve nothing. At worst Israel will attack the Madleen, killing everyone on board. There will be appalled voices coming out from the west, but the next day will be business as usual. Israel killing more and more Palestinians, with the help of western governments, as the whole of the world looks on. Some will shake their heads in disgust but most will go on with life as usual. What a horrible world we live in.
If Israel does sink the Madleen and/or kill everyone aboard, the entire world — maybe less than the US due to dictatorial control of the media here — will unite in revulsion and horror. Westerners are always appalled when they themselves are attacked by their western friends.
Israel depends not only on the Untied States but also on compliant European countries as well. Each new act of war chutzpah on Israel’s part is another nail in their eventual demise as a state. I am also appalled at western complicity with Israel even when it comes to sacrificing its own citizens. But there must be a limit and that limit will be reached, because whenever Israel does not see a limit, it pushes further. Sooner or later it will push over the edge.
I genuinely hope for the sake of the Palestinians that the Madleen is allowed to complete its mission. But there can be no accommodation with complete impunity. In the end, as with Nazi Germany, Israel must be smashed.
I take my hat off to these young people but unfortunately israel does not care. I am a positive person but alas I think they are courting death.
Their endeavour is highly commendable. However, there can be little doubt that Israel, in its usual barbaric fashion, will ensure that Madleen never reaches Gaza.
Thank You Ann