Community Corner

Hartland Couple Advocates for Gaza Blockade Runners

Wife debates U.S. Mike Rogers about protest Saturday at town hall-style meeting.

A Hartland couple backing a ship trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza raised the issue with U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers during a town hall-style meeting Saturday — but said they left disappointed.

Chuck and Mares Hirchert, who are members of Veterans for Peace, have one of 3,000 letters from Americans that support the people of Gaza aboard The Audacity of Hope. The American-flagged ship has author Alice Walker and some 50 Americans aboard. It is one of nine the Greek government has prevented from leaving the port in Athens with what supporters say is humanitarian aid, according to an article published Saturday by the Jerusalem Post.

In a back-and-forth exchange, Mares Hirchert differed with Rogers whether Gaza was receiving enough food and medicine and whether the flotilla was a good idea, discussing how nine activists died in a similar attempt last year in a clash with Israeli commandos who boarded ships. Rogers also said while he knew of the flotilla, he wasn't familiar with the American ship.

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“He is not on the side of freedom,” said Mares Hirchert afterward, who along with husband Chuck signed a postcard in which the two support Gaza and decry deaths of hundreds of Palestinian children. "He should know what's happening to our U.S. citizens in a peaceful protest."

But Rogers said during the meeting while he appreciates what the activists are trying to do, Israel is trying to defend itself against enemies who want to destroy the country. He said Palestinians who want to attack Israel are getting more sophisticated weapons, and before the blockade, one of the ways arms were sent in was by ship.

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“My concern is they are going to get much more accurate," said Rogers, who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "They don’t fire into military installations. They fire into housing units, schools, bus stations. It is incredibly dangerous."


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