Pictured above are nine of the twelve crew members of the Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla ship sailing to Gaza with vital humanitarian aid for Palestinians. From left: Şuayb Ordu, Reva Seifert Viard, Thiago Ávila, Marco Van Rennes, Yasemin Acar, Pascal Maurieras, Rima Hassan, Sergio Toribio, and Greta Thunberg. (Not pictured: Baptiste Andre, Omar Faiad, and Yanis M’hamdi.)
Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, pictured third from left, was interviewed earlier today by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! He said that “spirits are high” on the ship, despite the constant presence of drones overhead and threats from the Israeli government.
Ávila also observed that “Palestine is now the strategic place for all peoples to unite and fight against oppression, exploitation and the destruction of nature. People’s power is the ultimate power, and love and solidarity can beat any hateful, racist and supremacist ideology, like Zionism.”
Earlier this week, the ship made a detour to respond to a mayday call to help dozens of migrants aboard a deflating vessel.
The Madleen is expected to reach Gaza on Monday, though Israeli officials have said they will not allow it to land.
Following is Democracy Now!’s full 7-minute interview with Thiago Ávila.
Related Off-site Links:
A Ship Called Madleen: Gaza’s First Fisherwoman Inspires Solidarity Mission – Maram Humaid and Simon Speakman Cordall (Al Jazeera, June 5, 2025).
Who’s on Board the Madleen? – Al Jazeera (June 3, 2025).
Greta Thunberg Speaks from Aid Ship Heading to Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation – Democracy Now! (June 4, 2025).
UPDATES: As Madleen Nears Egyptian Coast, Voices from Aboard Call for Gaza’s Freedom – The Palestine Chronicle (June 7, 2025).
Israeli Forces Stop Aid Ship Carrying Activists From Reaching Gaza – BBC World News (June 8, 2025).
“Kidnapped in International Waters”: Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Aid Ship, Detains Greta Thunberg and Others – Democracy Now! (June 9, 2025).
Israel’s Seizure of Gaza Freedom Flotilla Called a “Blatant Act of International Piracy” – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, June 9, 2025).
Gaza Flotilla Activist Thiago Ávila Begins Hunger Strike as Israel Detains Eight, Deports Four – The Palestine Chronicle (June 11, 2025).
See also the following chronologically-ordered Wild Reed posts:
• October 7, 2023: “Nothing About Today Is ‘Unprovoked’”
• Phyllis Bennis: “If We Are Serious About Ending This Spiraling Violence, We Need to Look at Root Causes”
• In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• Eric Levitz: Quote of the Day – October 11, 2023
• Something to Think About – October 12, 2023
• Prayer of the Week – October 16, 2023
• Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• More Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• Ta-Nehisi Coates: Quote of the Day – November 2, 2023
• Jehad Abusalim: Quote of the Day – December 8, 2023
• Christmas 2023 – Reflections, Activism, Art, and Celebrations
• Sabrina Salvati: Quote of the Day – January 2, 2024
• Michael Fakhri: Quote of the Day – February 27, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• Josh Paul: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• “A Genocide Has Been Normalized”
• “This Is a Genocidal Project”
• Outrage and Despair
• Naomi Klein’s Powerful Words on Israel’s and the West’s Ongoing Gaza Genocide
• Judith Butler on the Ongoing Student Protests Against the Gaza Genocide
• Kyle Kulinski: Quote of the Day – May 23, 2024
• Something to Think About – June 28, 2024
• Nina Turner: Quote of the Day – July 24, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: “We Can Never Give Up Hope”
• John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
• Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
• Breaking Down Kamala Harris’s DNC Speech on Gaza
• Yousef Munayyer: Quote of the Day – August 30, 2024
• “It’s a Systematic Slaughter That We’re Funding”
• Protesting Weapons Manufacturer and Genocide Enabler General Dynamics
• Something to Think About – September 26, 2024
• “A Year of War Against Children”
• Anti-Genocide Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Reflects on the First Anniversary of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
• Liam Cosgrove Confronts U.S. State Department Spin Doctor Matthew Miller: “People Are Sick of the Bullshit”
• “This Is a Tragic, Heartbreaking Moment in the History of Humanity”
• Progressive Perspectives on Kamala Harris’ Faltering Presidential Campaign
• Progressive Perspectives on Where Democrats Went Wrong in the 2024 Presidential Election
• Hope and Courage – Christmas 2024
• Chris Hedges: “Israel Has No Intention of Halting Its Merry-Go-Round of Death”
• The Lamentable Legacy of the Biden Administration
• Caitlin Johnstone: Quote of the Day – January 22, 2025
• Butch Ware: Quote of the Day – January 30, 2025
• The Only Difference
• Progressive Perspectives on Cory Booker’s Marathon Speech
• Silence on Gaza Genocide Is “More Than a Mere Moral Abdication; It Is Lethal”
• The Theft of One’s Soul: Omar El Akkad on the “Lesser of Two Evils” Argument
• How Genocide Becomes Ordinary
• Thomas Friedman: Quote of the Day – May 27, 2025
• “A Holocaust, Live-streamed”
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “The Mistreatment and Discrimination Against Palestinians Is Not Unprecedented. It’s Baked Into the Foundation of the Political System in Israel”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “Nightmare” (2021)
• Something to Think About – July 29, 2018
• Noura Erakat: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
• For Some Jews, Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
• Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
• David Norris: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014
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