Israel is afraid of whole world – activist

Israel's military have taken control of the last ship from Freedom Flotilla 2 and are convoying it to Israel. Activist Itamar Shapiro, who took part in the last year's deadly flotilla attempt, told RT why Israel feels so threatened by such missions.

Shapiro stated last year's flotilla was sailing to Gaza with a message that not all Jews are against Palestinians. “The message we wanted to convey [was] that we are also Jews and Israelis and are not against Palestinians, not about to oppress them. That we come with solidarity, come to break the siege and demonstrate we think the situation in Gaza is illegal and immoral and criminal,” said the human rights activist.Shapiro also stated that the flotilla hardly got any support in Israel.“The flotilla is taken as another attack from outside, even though this time it was not armed, and it is not Palestinians’, it is European. It is hard for Israel to digest that. Today Israel is so afraid of the whole world. It hates us for no reason. So the flotilla is just another attack for them.”Shapiro maintained he knew well the flotilla would not reach Gaza, but stated it was not their chief aim.“The flotilla’s first aim was not to reach Gaza, but to show Gaza is under siege illegally, people are being starved and shot at, while their land was being taken. The flotilla’s aim was to show solidarity in a non-violent way,” Shapiro said.Shapiro says that even non-violent activists are being attacked by the Israeli military.“I have been an activist for eight years; I have seen most of what the army can do to a non-violent activist. But I was shocked when I saw a Taser gun used against my brother with no attack from him. He was hugging his friend, and a big officer told them to stop. They did not, so the officer “tased” him three times, which can easily cause death,” said Shapiro.Shapiro said that when serving in the Israeli army, he learnt what hypocrisy is. “I went to the army together with my brother. It is there that I understood I wasn’t fighting for peace. We were made to fight to defend the Jewish elite. It was not a fight for freedom, nor for defending Israel. It was a fight to control Palestinians and to maintain political strength,” he believes.