Nobel Women's Initiative

Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire returned safely to Dublin on Monday after being held at a detention centre outside of Tel Aviv. Maguire was detained after Israeli naval commandos intercepted and illegally boarded the Irish cargo ship MV Rachel Corrie in international waters on Saturday. The ship, whose passengers included Maguire, former UN assistant secretary-general Denis Halliday and other Irish and Malaysian activists, was attempting to bring humanitarian supplies to blockaded Gaza.  

Though their attempts were stymied, they remain determined to step up their efforts to end the illegal blockade imposed by the Israeli government. Another aid flotilla will be making its way to Gaza within weeks.

Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire and passengers of the MV Rachel Corrie are appealing to the Israeli government to allow them safe passage to Gaza. Those onboard the vessel, which is carrying humanitarian, medical and educational supplies, are primarily members of peace organizations from Ireland and Malaysia. They have announced that if boarded they will sit down on a circle in the middle of the deck and hold hands to demonstrate their commitment to nonviolence.

Update: IWC conference releases statement condemning Gaza flotilla attack, more below

Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams is in Madrid, Spain, to attend the international colloquium "Advancing Women's Leadership for Sustainable Peace in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and Worldwide".  The conference is being hosted by the International Women's Commission (IWC) and UNIFEM to highlight women's leadership in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  

Update: Mairead Maguire en route to Gaza aboard the MV Rachel Corrie

The Nobel Women's Initiative on Monday issued a statement, denouncing the Israeli military attacks on the Free Gaza flotilla in international waters in the morning hours of May 31.  The Nobel Women's Initiative condemns Israel's violence and stand in solidarity with the Free Gaza activists, including sister Laureate Mairead Maguire.

Maguire is aboard one of two ships that left later than the rest of the convoy, and was not present when the attacks occurred.  The two remaining Free Gaza ships will continue on towards Gaza.

Read the Nobel Women's Initiative statement  and find out how you can take action below.

Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire is calling for the freedom of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistle-blower. In a letter to fellow peace laureate President Barack Obama and Israeli President Shimon Peres, Maguire has asked for the two men to help obtain Vanunu's release. 

Vanunu was sentenced to three months in prison on May 11, which he began serving on May 23. His most recent sentence is allegedly for refusing to perform community service in West Jerusalem.

Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire will sail to Gaza next week aboard the MV Rachel Corrie as part of the eight-vessel Freedom Flotilla. The flotilla will attempt to cross a port blockade instituted by the Israeli government in order to provide Palestinians with much needed supplies, including medical equipment, reconstruction materials and school supplies.

This is the eighth mission of the sort led by the Free Gaza Movement. Five have been able to deliver their supplies to Gaza, two have been stopped at the blockade.

Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire participated in a tribunal last week that examined human rights violations in Palestine. The international community's complicit involvement in this ongoing conflict was the main focus of the Russell Tribunal, held in Barcelona, Spain.