THE WEEKLY PAGE 📝 No. 255
Eyes on the Freedom Flotilla + what to read, watch, listen to and enjoy...
On May 2, the Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla humanitarian aid ship bound for Palestine was off the coast of Europe near Malta when it was attacked by Israeli drones. The ship contained an international team of aid workers from 21-countries along with food, baby supplies, and prosthetics. Thankfully there were no injuries, but the ship and many of the supplies were lost.
This week, a second ship called “The Madleen” launched from Italy, determined to reach Palestine and create a humanitarian corridor, breaking the months-long Israeli blockade that is currently causing widespread starvation and death among Palestinians. On board is 22-year old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and 11 other high-profile activists from various countries. Together their platforms reach an audience of more than 20 million people worldwide. The hope is that their visibility and reach will provide the ship with safety, but just a few days into their voyage, off the coast of Greece, the internet held it’s collective breath a drone circled above them in the night sky (it was later identified as Greek surveillance drone, thankfully).
They are risking their lives. In 2010, a group of six Freedom Flotilla aid ships headed to Palestine were attacked by Israeli forces, leaving 10 of their aid workers dead. We know that at least 200 journalists and countless aid workers have been killed in Palestine over the last 20 months of the conflict.
I cannot tell you how nauseous I felt on June 1 when American Senator Lindsay Graham Tweeted “I hope Greta and her friends can swim.” A direct threat toward an unarmed boat of international civilians attempting to deliver humanitarian aid and medical supplies should be condemnable by all of us.
The Madleen should reach Palestine this weekend, but reports are already stating that Israel does not plan to allow the ship to reach Gaza. It is likely that they will create a naval blockade — potentially repeating the event from 2010. Please keep this group of people in your thoughts this weekend as they sail legally through international waters in accordance with maritime law and humanitarian law to deliver aid to people who, even under occupation, have the right to receive it.
If you’d like to monitor their progress you can view the Madleen Tracker online.
Also important to note that this initiative is getting a lot of attention because so many of the prominent faces involved are white westerners. There is also a group of Tunisian activists walking to Palestine on foot to break the siege, and another event is aiming to have 10,000 activists walk to Palestine from Egypt later this month.
📚 READ: The Martian is one of my favorite films (another one I watch every year!) and my love for it comes from also loving the book -- a 2011 novel by Andy Weir. His newest book, Project Hail Mary, will be coming out as a film in 2026 starring Ryan Gosling (the teaser just came out online).
📺 WATCH: I’ve gotten so many recommendations for this short, 30-minute documentary on Netflix. The Quilters follows men in a Missouri maximum security prison as they sew beautiful, personalized quilts for foster children. I’ve heard it’s a worthwhile look at the US prison system as well as the impact of restorative justice programs. Watch the trailer here.
🎧 LISTEN: I stayed up too late last night because how can you fall asleep when two of the world’s biggest man-babies (one with nuclear codes and one with all our private info) are having a public breakup?! For more on the fallout between Trump and Musk check out today's episode of Pivot.
🧡 ENJOY: This idea came up in my Instagram feed last week and I thought it was so cute! This summer, consider creating your own "how to be a person camp" this summer for your kids, grandkids, or whatever littles are in your life. I love the idea which seems to have originated in this Substack post from
. The Instagram post below does a great job of rounding up some ideas for different ages:
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I whole-heartedly concur with your Read and Watch recommendations! Project Hail Mary is one of my top 10 all time favorite novels - it's a sci-fi novel for people who don't like sci-fi - really a touching buddy story set in space - amazing story and I can't wait to see it come to life with Ryan Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace - should be amazing. The Quilters is such a touching story of responsibility and redemption. These men, while still struggling with the demons of their former selves, are meticulous and thoughtful about their fabric choices, and the quilt design and block layout, making sure that the corners are clean and there are no puckers, giving these kids the recognition and care that they will never know about and that those kids' families never did in order to atone and pay forward and to heal both themselves and those kids. They are not transformed into perfect humans, but they have been given a purpose and that purpose has made them want to be better members of society. And I think that is beautiful and the best outcome you can hope for. Hankies required!
My mom is a stellar quilter, has been my whole life. She also watched The Quilters and is now sending a bunch of her old fabric to the prison for them to create with!