If the CNN report is true (not to be assumed automatically, given how much
> of this is rewritten from the press release), the organizers of the flotilla
> seem to have passed up a sterling opportunity by refusing Gilad Shalit's
> family's request to pass on medicine to their son. And for what?
I'm probably not the best-equipped person here to answer this one, but that's never stopped me before, right?
Since the first international aid convoy to Gaza, there has been a definite progression away from vague humanitarian sentiment, and towards precise political opposition to the siege of Gaza and the occupation of Palestine. Muddying the purpose of the current mission with the additional issue of Gilad Shalit would be a huge step backwards, in what most of us would consider the wrong direction.
Beyond that, whenever your political enemy asks you to jump through a particular hoop, it is almost always a good idea to refuse their proposition. In fact, I cannot think of a single exception to this rule. And do any of us doubt that Shalit's parents acted on behalf of the State of Israel? They've never pushed their own government to engage in serious negotiations over the many more Palestinian prisoners it holds, in far worse conditions, which would be a much better and more promising way to resolve Shalit's detention.
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."