• Cheered off in Barcelona by thousands, Tadhg Hickey says the voyage is not an act of heroism but a moral obligation
• Mission aims to send around 50 vessels and hundreds of activists trained in non-violence to break Israel’s Gaza blockade
• Israel has warned it will stop the flotilla, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir pushing for prolonged detention

LONDON

At Barcelona’s port, thousands gathered to wave off a flotilla of activists bound for Gaza. Among those departing was Irish comedian and rising activist Tadhg Hickey, who says the voyage is not an act of heroism but a moral obligation.

“Why not me? Why should I tell people to take one more step if I don’t take the extra step myself to get the results we need in terms of our advocacy for Palestine?” he said in an interview with Anadolu.

This week, a fleet of more than 20 ships set sail from Barcelona aimed at delivering aid to Gaza and breaking Israel’s blockade. Organizers say more boats are set to join the journey, bringing together around 50 vessels and hundreds of people in the Global Sumud Flotilla – an initiative they call the largest maritime mission to Gaza yet.

“There’s nothing extraordinary about what we’re doing. What is extraordinary is that we have to do it ... as the West has failed,” said Hickey.

Speaking a day after the mission started, he recalled the departure from Barcelona.

“Lots of people who have been doing this type of work a lot longer than I have said that it was the most impressive launch they ever had. There were thousands of people in Barcelona to see us off, and press from all over the world,” he said. “I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more press from Western nations. Of course, the countries that did all the damage (are) the first to look away during a Holocaust or a genocide, or man-made starvation.”

The flotilla, organized by international coalitions of activists, has been gathering momentum in recent years. In this mission, participants come from at least 44 countries.

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful collection of human beings in my life, everyone with the same idea and same purpose. Most people have kids. Most people have work. You know, nobody’s on a jolly to get selfies,” he said.

“They’re just really dedicated human beings showing very, very basic compassion.”

Describing life on board, Hickey said he grabbed a couple of hours in a bunk, then slept on deck, and that everyone takes on routine chores regardless of status. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the pope, you still need to clean the toilets.”  

Israel ‘masterful at portraying ordinary people as terrorists’

Before departure, activists undertook several days of preparation focusing on discipline and non-violence.

“Everything about what we do is coordinated under the theme of non-violence, because we all know that the Zionist entity is quite masterful at portraying ordinary, innocent people as terrorists,” he said, citing Israeli media reports accusing him “of being a terrorist and an asset of Iran."

He added that people on previous missions have been “slandered or physically attacked, or in the case of some Turkish comrades many years ago, murdered by the Israeli state.”

He was referring to 2010, when Israeli commandos raided the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, killing 10 activists and drawing international condemnation.

“In spite of all that, the activists still keep coming back,” he said. “During the training, about half the room were people who had already been on previous flotillas.”  

Real risks

Despite the commitment to peace, Hickey acknowledged the risks.

“There’s a fear, of course. You’re going into the unknown. And my main fear is for my family, actually, because it’s possible – maybe even likely – that I’m going to get put in an Israeli prison and they’re not going to have any contact with me for two, three days or more. Who knows? I mean, they’re threatening a lot longer now,” he said.

On Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir presented a plan to the Israeli Cabinet for the flotilla that includes holding the activists in prolonged detention.

Another flotilla carrying activists such as climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who is making the voyage again, arrived near Gaza in June. Israeli forces seized the ship and deported the activists.

“We don’t necessarily want to be going. We feel like we have to go,” said Hickey. “We wouldn’t be in this position if Western governments weren’t so unbelievably craven, so complicit in this genocide.”

Many of the Irish activists felt the same way, Hickey added. 

‘Movement is only growing’

Barcelona, Hickey reflected, offered a glimpse of a different world.

“It was kind of like a dream. It was like, ‘Oh, here’s what the world should be like, that everyone should be standing up for Palestine, because it’s not about politics. It’s about them (Israel) not allowing baby formula into Gaza.’”

For Hickey, the challenge Israel faces is not from individuals but from a growing, united opposition.

“That's the bigger problem Israel faces – it's the collective. And I think that’s what they rightly should fear because the people are appalled by their horrific violence,” he said. “So more and more and more civilians are standing up where governments won’t.”

He is convinced that whatever happens, this flotilla will not be the last.

“I really think the Zionist entity has a big problem on its hands,” he said. “Whatever happens to us on our journey, I know one thing for sure – the activists won’t stop. Anything that happens to us, they will not stop. The movement is only growing.”