Since 2007, Israel has blockaded the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip, and since 2008, activists have sought to break the illegal blockade by sailing through the blockade zone to deliver humanitarian aid by sea. Since 2010, repeated attempts by the Gaza Freedom Flotilla have been intercepted, raided, or attacked by Israeli forces. In the summer of 2025, participants from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition joined the Global Movement to Gaza and the Sumud Convoy, and launched the largest in the continuing series of flotillas, with 40 vessels and almost 500 participants from more than 44 countries.
Among the participants from Portland were Stephen Wahab and Paul Reid. Paul talks here with Frann Michel about why he joined the flotilla and what he experienced, including international solidarity, Israeli captivity, and US government complicity.
He recommends concerned listeners visit Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights: https://auphr.org/
Image: Banner with text "Global Sumud Flotilla" and images of a stylized olive tree and a Palestinian flag. By Mtvdanilo, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
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