Obama's friend raising funds for new Gaza aid ship

Khalidi said the fact that the ship is American would bring attention to the Gaza issue, which had begun to have an impact on American public opinion.

Yes That's true , but not everybody is on the side of Palestine and the Gaza Strip !

If successful , Obama will have to take a stand , so this could soon show some true Colors of where the Administration sits .



Haaretz.com
WASHINGTON - A fundraising campaign is currently underway in the United States to finance the purchase of an American ship in an effort to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip in the early autumn. The ship is to be named after U.S. President Barack Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope."

If that isn't enough to stir the ghosts of the 2008 American presidential election, one of the prominent figures to support the initiative is Columbia University history professor Rashid Khalidi, a well-known critic of Israel whose friendship with the American president from their days together in Chicago engendered criticism of Obama.

An email being circulated by pro-Palestinian activists in the U.S. said the goal of the fundraising campaign is to raise at least $370,000 next month to obtain possession of a ship that could accommodate between 40 and 60 people and for operational expenses. The e-mail said the ship will join a flotilla of other vessels from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa and the Middle East in an additional attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade.