BERLIN — German Jews are preparing to send a ship loaded with humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip at the end of July despite an Israeli blockade, a representative for the initiative said on Thursday.
“The list of passengers has not been drawn up yet but we have a lot of requests from around the world,” said Edith Lutz, who is preparing the journey for the German chapter of European Jews for a Just Peace.
Lutz told Deutschlandfunk public radio that the group had collected donations for children in Gaza including binders with educational materials, games, clothing and musical instruments.
The Israeli raid on May 31 on a Gaza-bound activist aid flotilla, during which nine Turkish activists were shot dead, meant that: “Our ship is more urgent than ever,” she said.
“We are in contact with the Israeli government and the embassy in Berlin. We informed them a while ago,” Lutz said. She said the embassy had said it would not help the organisation but that discussions were continuing.
