Guy Serbin

A sign of the times, quite literally. As spotted on a kosher food shop in London.

Once again, the Gaza “aid flotilla” demonstrates how utterly useless and moronic forms of “activism” are a drain of resources and human power that could have been allocated elsewhere to actually make a difference, not just make a point. This is what happens when Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day” film becomes somewhat of a reality; when a failed strategy is repeated again and again on a recurring time loop that always produces the same outcome with the same exact worthlessness. Ironically, the Gaza “aid flotilla” trying the same failed thing over and over while expecting different results, somewhat mirrors what Palestinian factions and political leaders have been doing for decades, especially when it comes to the “resistance” narrative – as if the Palestinian people need any more external affirmation of failed and miserable actions that have only produced death, destruction, and failures. Of course Israel wasn’t going to allow these ships to go through; of course Israel will try to intercept these ships in international waters to avoid having to deal with them on its soil; of course Israel will face no real pushback or meaningful opposition to its actions against the flotilla, and therefore, you’re not going to “draw attention” to Israeli actions no matter how aggressive and hostile they are. Gazans don’t need symbolic amounts of aid to “draw attention” to their plight; hundreds of trucks enter the Strip daily loaded with supplies and materials that are quantitatively greater per capita than aid entering Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Mali, Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria, Cuba, Afghanistan, or the DRC. What Gazans need is someone to call out the unequal distribution of aid and assistance; Gazans need someone to expose Hamas’s crimes against an exhausted population; Gazans need attention drawn to the Egyptian siege of the Rafah border crossing and the prevention of thousands of patients and travelers unable to pass through Cairo’s airport to the outside world; Gazans need pressure on Hamas to disarm and sacrifice so that 2 million Palestinians can live and have a chance at reconstruction and a better future; Gazans need financial support to purchase inflated food and basic items that the cost of the “aid flotilla” could have paid for; Gazans don’t need performative sympathy but require actually helpful actions which often mean working with Israel, Egypt, the US, and those with influence in a pragmatic, unemotional manner. Enough with the flotilla bullshit – enough with Western activists having sex, dancing, and playing sports on boats while sailing to “save” Gazans – stop wasting time, resources, and attention and do something meaningful for once in your lives!

Once again, the Gaza “aid flotilla” demonstrates how utterly useless and moronic forms of “activism” are a drain of resources and human power that could have been allocated elsewhere to actually make a difference, not just make a point. This is what happens when Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day” film becomes somewhat of a reality; when a failed strategy is repeated again and again on a recurring time loop that always produces the same outcome with the same exact worthlessness. Ironically, the Gaza “aid flotilla” trying the same failed thing over and over while expecting different results, somewhat mirrors what Palestinian factions and political leaders have been doing for decades, especially when it comes to the “resistance” narrative – as if the Palestinian people need any more external affirmation of failed and miserable actions that have only produced death, destruction, and failures. Of course Israel wasn’t going to allow these ships to go through; of course Israel will try to intercept these ships in international waters to avoid having to deal with them on its soil; of course Israel will face no real pushback or meaningful opposition to its actions against the flotilla, and therefore, you’re not going to “draw attention” to Israeli actions no matter how aggressive and hostile they are. Gazans don’t need symbolic amounts of aid to “draw attention” to their plight; hundreds of trucks enter the Strip daily loaded with supplies and materials that are quantitatively greater per capita than aid entering Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Mali, Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria, Cuba, Afghanistan, or the DRC. What Gazans need is someone to call out the unequal distribution of aid and assistance; Gazans need someone to expose Hamas’s crimes against an exhausted population; Gazans need attention drawn to the Egyptian siege of the Rafah border crossing and the prevention of thousands of patients and travelers unable to pass through Cairo’s airport to the outside world; Gazans need pressure on Hamas to disarm and sacrifice so that 2 million Palestinians can live and have a chance at reconstruction and a better future; Gazans need financial support to purchase inflated food and basic items that the cost of the “aid flotilla” could have paid for; Gazans don’t need performative sympathy but require actually helpful actions which often mean working with Israel, Egypt, the US, and those with influence in a pragmatic, unemotional manner. Enough with the flotilla bullshit – enough with Western activists having sex, dancing, and playing sports on boats while sailing to “save” Gazans – stop wasting time, resources, and attention and do something meaningful for once in your lives!

The father of Irish Palestine Action ‘activist’ Daniel Taylor-Devally is on TV moaning about how his son is treated by German authorities. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone to another country and been nicked for smashing up a factory.