Israel recruiting women to attack the Lebanese aid flotilla !

How can Israel hijack the women aid boat going to Gaza without causing (yet another) international scene? Surely male commandos carrying machine guns and raiding the aid boat Mariam (“Mary”, in Arabic) would make for the most unsavoury international sight.

An advertisement published in the Weekend edition of Yediot Aharonot [image source], Israel’s most widely distributed newspaper, may give a hint [thanks to Dena Shunra]:

“Security organization
seeks women with great physical strength and motivation
to evacuate women from the relief flotilla sent by Hezbollah to Gaza.
This is a volunteer activity.
Please leave your data after the beep: 076-5400116.”

Calling the number on the ad leads you to an automated message [translation source here]:

“Hello and thank you for your call.

We are looking for women of all ages to aid in evacuation of peace activists from incoming flotillas.

If you are in great shape, and are not dissuaded by challenge, please leave your name and phone number, age and past experience if there is any. An office representative will get back to you at the beginning of the week.

Thank you for your response to this important cause. Goodbye.”

Yes, it IS as ludicrous as it sounds.

We are looking at an organization recruiting women, amateurs included - and perhaps preferred, to physically attack the participants to an international aid mission seeking to bring relief directly to their recipients. Obviously, 25 or so women carrying aid and seeking to challenge the Israeli-imposed blockade on Gaza are a major threat to Israeli national security.

A few clarifications are in order.

First, said aid flotilla is one of two ships leaving Lebanon towards Gaza. The first, the Naji-Al-Ali, carries journalists and media professionals; the second, Mariam, is a women-initiative. Both carry Muslims and Christians, Lebanese and otherwise passengers. Mariam, as it so happens, also carries four American nuns. The “Hezbollah” accusation is the official Israeli government interpretation - and, it is feared, excuse to justify upcoming hostile action on the ships and their passengers.

Second, regarding the advertisement, the recruiting organization is unknown, only referring to itself as a “Security Organization”. Leading blogger Richard Silverstein - believes the ad was placed by the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.

Third, the ad was also posted on a couple of online job recruitment websites [here and here] ; and aside from the same telephone number one of them also provides an email address - [email protected] - which, after a simple Google search, only appears on said job advertisement, as well as on a forum where said Bill - a 34 years old woman, in all appearances - was inviting people to her birthday party and professing her love for people living in Kibbutzim. [hebrew speakers, please feel free to correct me.]

We wrote to the email address but are yet to receive a response.

Fourth, the phone number - is a VoIP number provided by the national Telecom company, Bezeq; there is no city code that would help identify the recruiter’s location.

There is a possibility that this much controversial advertisement is indeed a hoax. It may be deliberately placed to create this very kind of buzz - and to give the idea that violence is to be expected.

But I do not, as of yet, want to discard the possibility that it is a real advertisement, that the Israeli army really wishes to avoid another blunt 'military vs. human rights activists' confrontation. And putting soldiers in civilian outfits won't do - I reckon that it's nearly impossible for a trained soldier not to use their combat training when under duress, which would defeat the purpose of getting them out of uniform - and that a 'female civilian brigade' of sorts would be used to attack the human rights activists on board of the Mariam with mace and, well, fingernails.

In the mean time, I've been calling said number and filling their mailbox with anti-occupation speech. Give it a try. It's fun! [add +972 before the number and drop the zero].