Israeli Troops Treated Activists ‘Harshly’ in Jewish Boat Raid

Gaza Aid Activists Complain of Mistreatment

Though the capture of a small Jewish humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza yesterday managed to come and go without Israeli commandos actually killing any of the aid workers, a number of them are complaining of harsh mistreatment during the boarding process.

One of the passengers, a former Israeli Air Force pilot, was tasered by forces while sitting down, and the 67-year-old captain of the boat was reportedly knocked to the ground by the troops.

The Israeli military claimed yesterday’s raid was entirely peaceul, but those on board the ship said this was simply untrue. Reuben Moscowitz, an 80+ year old Holocaust survivor who was one of the ship’s nine passengers expressed shock that Israeli soldiers “would treat nine Jewish this way. They just hit people.”

On May 31 Israeli troops boarded a Turkish aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, and killed nine aid workers on board. The killings sparked international outrage and have spawned a number of efforts to send additional ships to the Gaza Strip in protest. This ship was one of many planned by groups across the world.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.