The Women's Boat to Gaza (WBG) was an initiative by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition in 2016 to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.[1] [2] The WBG consisted of an entirely female crew and one ship, Zaytouna-Oliva. It started from Barcelona on 14 September 2016 and visited Ajaccio, Corsica and Messina, Sicily along the way.[3] On 5 October 2016, the Israeli Navy intercepted the Women's Boat to Gaza and detained its crew members, who were taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The activists were subsequently deported to their home countries.[4] [5] [6] [7]
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition launched the Women's Boat to Gaza to raise awareness of the role of women in advancing the Palestinian struggle in the Palestinian Territories and diaspora. The Women's Boat to Gaza also supported the goals of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign:
The Women's Boat to Gaza had a total of 26 participants. The voyage was divided into three legs: Barcelona to Ajaccio, Ajaccio to Messina, and Messina to Gaza. Each leg was crewed by thirteen volunteers with several members alternating at different legs of the voyage.[8] [9] [10]
| State | Personality | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member of the European Parliament of the Swedish Left Party. | |||
| Yehudit Barbara Ilany | Photographer, freelancer. | ||
| Paulina de los Reyes | Academic, Stockholm University. | ||
| Dr. Fauziah Hasan | Physician. | ||
| Madeleine Habib | Activist and seafarer. | ||
| Actress, director/activist, and politician. | |||
| Boat leader, retired United States Army colonel and diplomat. | |||
| Lucia Muñoz Lucena | Telesur journalist. | ||
| Jaldia Abubakra | Activist. | ||
| Wendy Goldsmith | Social worker and boat leader. | ||
| Synne Sofie Reksten | Student and crew. | ||
| Emma Rinqvist | Music teacher and crew. | ||
| Kitt Kittredge | Peace activist. | ||
| Actress. | |||
| Al Jazeera journalist. | |||
| Tunisian lawyer, politician, and Member of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People. | |||
| Hayat Al Yamani | Al Jazeera Mubasher Al-‘Amma journalist. | ||
| Norsham Binti Abubakr | Support Services Manager at An-Nur Specialist Hospital. | ||
| Peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. | |||
| Green Member of Parliament, environmentalist, and human rights activist. | |||
| Swedish Left Party Member of Parliament. | |||
| Samira Douaifia | Member of the Algerian People's National Assembly. | ||
| Beach volleyball player. | |||
| Hoda Rakhme | Al Jazeera camerawoman and editor. | ||
 United Kingdom (England) | Mina Harballou | Al Jazeera journalist. | |
| Photographer. |
The Zaytouna-Oliva was the sole ship in the Women's Boat to Gaza expedition. The Oliva was named after a civil protection boat that the Italian journalist Vittorio Arrigoni sailed in prior to his murder by a Palestinian militant group in Gaza in 2011. A second ship called the Amal-Hope was originally due to participate but pulled out subsequently.
Organizations and campaigns participating in the Women's Boat to Gaza have included Sweden Ship to Gaza, Norway Ship to Gaza, Canadian Boat to Gaza, the Italian Freedom Flotilla, the South African Palestine Solidarity Alliance, the Spanish Rumbo a Gaza, International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza, US Boat to Gaza, the New Zealand-based Kia Ora Gaza, and Free Gaza Australia.