The Greco-Zionist Conspiracy

Greece is not allowing the ships of the so-called Freedom Flotilla II to leave its ports for Gaza. It has even dragged the American ship "The Audacity of Hope" back to shore after it attempted to leave without authorization. We owe the Greeks a debt of gratitude - better that they have to deal with this crap than we do.

There have been reports that Netanyahu has promised Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to bring in Israeli investments into Greece to help it overcome its financial crisis, in exchange for stopping the flotilla. The anti-Israel blogosphere is filling with rage. They see it as a corrupt deal. I think it is totally acceptable international politics. It is mutually benefitial, with Greece getting a boost to its economy and Israel having a few less Gaza-bound boats to worry about.

Neither is the deal hurting anyone. It isn't hurting the Palestinians in Gaza, since the flotilla wouldn't reach the Strip, anyway. Even if it did, it wouldn't really help Gazans in any way. They don't really need more aid, nor do they need a bunch of letters from sympathetic Americans. They may need media attention, and the flotilla has gotten plenty of that even without reaching Gaza or being boarded by Israeli commandos.

The only people who might get somewhat hurt by Greece's decision not to let them through are the participants of the flotilla themselves. Their loss is financial, as each day that passes they have to spend more money on hotels and meals than they expected. Who knows - maybe this whole thing is a conspiracy to infuse much needed money into the Greek tourism industry, coming directly from the pockets of flotilla members?

The activists aren't even hurt by the fact that they can't reach Gaza itself. I mean, who the hell wants to get into Gaza. Israel and Greece are saving them a trip to a shithole (although Greece itself is kind of a shitty place, too, because of the financial crisis). Are they being deprived of the action and heroism of fighting Israeli soldiers boarding them? No, they can fight Greek authorities instead, if a struggle is what they're looking for.

As "The Audacity of Hope" fades into "The Audacity of Nope", let me thank, once again, the Greek government, on behalf of myself and most of my fellow Israelis. Yassou!