Monday, June 9, 2025

The Odyssey of the Madleen: The Fragility of Power and the Bravery of Twelve

The Madleen, a ship carrying 12 aid workers on a mission to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, has become an odyssey of both hope and defiance.

Early Monday, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese reported that she was in live contact with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s Madleen crew when the ship was approached by five Israeli speedboats circling the vessel in international waters.

The ship’s captain instructed the team to remain calm and seated, with their passports and life jackets readily available. Albanese, who was simultaneously tweeting updates, heard the crew informing Israeli soldiers that they were carrying humanitarian aid and intended to reach Gaza peacefully. At that point, the Israeli boats were circling but had not yet intervened.

Albanese, an Italian lawyer and human rights advocate, confirmed that she was still online with the team and recording events in real-time.

Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila also spoke out about the escalating situation while on board the vessel on his Instagram account.

According to military observers, the Madleen was then reportedly attacked by Shayetet 13—Israel’s elite naval commandos, the same unit responsible for the deadly raid on the Gaza flotilla in 2010.

Moments later, the speedboats briefly withdrew. Then came the drones.

At 12:40 a.m. UK time, Albanese reported that Israeli drones were releasing white paint onto the deck of the Madleen, marking a chilling new phase of the confrontation.

By 12:51 a.m. UK time, the crew of the Madleen remained in good spirits, though they had taken cover due to two Israeli quadcopters hovering overhead.

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“These machines are made to kill, not just to surveil,” said Francesca Albanese, highlighting a grim truth: quadcopters have become instruments of death in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila also reported that the Israeli military was jamming communications, cutting off the Madleen’s ability to call for help.

Shortly after, live communications were lost—including Al Jazeera’s feed from the flotilla.

Then came the images: the crew throwing their mobile phones into the sea to prevent Israeli forces from seizing them.

News reports later confirmed the group was to be taken for interrogation at the Israeli naval base in Ashdod—a city built over the ruins of the Palestinian village of Isdud, which was entirely depopulated on October 28, 1948, during Operation Yoav.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) then issued a stark announcement: the Israeli navy had kidnapped the 12 aid workers aboard the Madleen.

At the time of the raid, the vessel was located in international waters—between Egypt’s and Palestine’s maritime zones. This is not the first time Israel has violated international law by attacking a civilian vessel on the high seas.

Observers and supporters had been tracking the Madleen since it departed from the port of Catania, Sicily, on June 1, 2025.

In a chilling statement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz—himself accused of war crimes—admitted to giving the order to stop the “hateful” flotilla by any means necessary.

This Eid, I found myself doing nothing except following the voyage of the Madleen, watching in real time as it sailed through the Mediterranean, wondering whether Israel would once again target a peaceful humanitarian mission.

In a world numbed by silence—from Arab states and the international community alike—the Madleen and its crew felt like something out of a forgotten Homeric tale. Twelve souls sailing toward the impossible, carrying not weapons but hope. Like a fellowship drawn from a Tolkien saga, a band of humans, each from a different land, advancing toward a besieged Gaza—a modern-day town under the grip of an Orc-like siege.

Here are the names and nationalities of the 12 aid workers aboard the Madleen:

  • Greta Thunberg – Swedish climate activist

  • Rima Hassan – French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament

  • Thiago Ávila – Brazilian activist

  • Yasemin Acar – German activist

  • Omar Faiad – French-Egyptian journalist

  • Pascal Maurieras – French activist

  • Yanis Mhamdi – French activist

  • Mark van Rennes – Dutch activist

  • Sergio Toribio – Spanish activist

  • Suayb Ordu – Turkish activist

  • Reva Viard – French activist

  • Baptiste André – French activist

Greta Thunberg was once the darling of Western mainstream media, hailed as the face of a global movement against pollution and climate change. Today, she’s vilified—reduced by critics to a "troubled autistic child supporting terrorists" simply because she dared to speak up for Gaza.

But Greta Thunberg remains a young woman with a moral compass far clearer than that of the entire Israeli government and its media apparatus.

Rima Hassan has now made history as the first sitting member of the European Parliament to be arrested by the Israeli military.

This is not the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s first attempt to reach Gaza. Their previous mission, unofficially foiled by Israel, was disrupted on May 2, 2025, when unidentified drones suddenly appeared over the ship while it was docked in Malta—only to vanish as mysteriously as they came.

This second mission carries the name Madleen. And as with everything in a modern odyssey, Madleen has a story.

The ship is named after Madleen Kulab—the first and only female fisher in Gaza.

Now 30, Madleen began fishing at the age of 13, defying social norms and the Israeli blockade alike to support her family.

In November 2023, she lost her father to an Israeli airstrike. At the time, she was pregnant and forced to flee repeatedly with her family. She eventually gave birth under brutal conditions.

Today, Madleen is a mother of four. She can no longer fish—her boats and equipment destroyed by the Israeli army.

Initiatives like the Sameer Project have tried to help her and other fishermen—among the last remaining food providers in Gaza, a place under siege and on the brink.

Al Jazeera captured a powerful moment when Madleen connected with MEP Rima Hassan. On the other end of the line was the woman behind the ship’s name—Madleen Kulab.

“They may have bombed my boat, but my name will remain, and it will sail across the seas,” Madleen told Al Jazeera.

As an Egyptian, an Arab, and a Muslim, I feel both angry and ashamed that a group of activists—mostly Westerners—are doing what millions of Arabs and Muslims should be doing. Instead of just one Madleen, there should be thousands, coming from all over the world to break this siege and put an end to this genocide.

There should be a true armada of civilian boats heading to Gaza.

The saga of the Madleen is far from over. Judging by the past few days, it has already sparked a flicker of hope in a time of profound despair—even as we feared its fate.

Like the ancient legends of Greece and the Tolkienian tales we once read in childhood, the fellowship may be scattered. But those few who dare to defy the impossible, who stand against injustice and tyranny, are the ones who endure.

And inshallah, they will triumph.

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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous6/10/2025 09:38:00 AM

    Jews come from Judea and Arabs from Arabia.

    ReplyDelete

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