In an episode reminiscent of the U.S.S. Liberty, the Israeli Navy bumped and damaged a boat carrying former U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney.
A boat carrying international peace activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.
The crowds on the docks in the Lebanese port city of Tyre were jubilant and cheering as they welcomed the vessel.
The boat, which set off from Cyprus Monday wanted to make a statement and deliver medical supplies to embattled Gaza. The trip’s organizers said the boat was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza, at the time of its close encounter with the Israeli navy.
“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”
Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, denied there had been any shooting although the two ships had made “physical contact.”
A little perspective, via a September 4, 2004 article in the Washington Post:
In 2002, two Democrats in Congress with records of voting against Israel’s interests — Reps. Earl Hilliard of Alabama and Cynthia McKinney of Georgia — faced primary opponents who received substantial support from Jewish donors. A majority of AIPAC board members gave to either McKinney’s challenger or Hilliard’s or both. Hilliard and McKinney lost. Bill Banks, McKinney’s campaign manger, charged that AIPAC had made her the “No. 1 candidate to try to remove from office.” AIPAC denied the accusation.
Of course, McKinney speaks out against AIPAC (here’s a video of a speech she made on February 2, 2008 on the subject to the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA)):
McKinney is lucky the Israelis didn’t torpedo and firebomb her boat and leave her for dead, as they did to over 200 Americans on the U.S.S. Liberty. It’s no accident that they damaged her vessel.
