Protect Madleen

The Freedom Flotilla civilian ship, Madleen, carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, has been attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters. The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated.

Call for the Australian Government to take action now

The Freedom Flotilla civilian ship, Madleen, carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, has been attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters. The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated.

Call for the Australian Government to take action now

Email the Australian Government

Find your local rep

Compose your email

Subject:

I am writing to you with the utmost urgency regarding the Madleen, a civilian aid vessel currently enroute to Gaza. We have received credible information from those onboard that the Freedom Flotilla civilian ship, Madleen, carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, has been attacked/forcibly intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters. The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated.

The vessel was carrying unarmed civilians, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, and humanitarian cargo for the besieged population of Gaza. The ship was unarmed, posed no threat, and was operating in full accordance with international maritime, humanitarian and human rights law. Its passengers and crew included parliamentarians, journalists, attorneys and human rights defenders representing global civil society.

As the occupying power in Gaza, under international law, Israel is bound by the Geneva Conventions, customary international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter. Israel has a legal obligation to respect and protect civilians and humanitarian personnel, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and to ensure the freedom of navigation in international waters.

Under international law, clearly identified humanitarian vessels and their personnel are protected. Any interception, attack, sabotage, or interference with the Madleen or its civilian passengers and crew constitutes a deliberate, knowing, and unlawful attack on civilians and a violation of international law. As such, the attack on Madleen amounts to a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and potentially constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Given the immediate threat, we are urgently requesting the following of the Australian Government:

1.	To step up, demand the safety of the Madleen passengers, and the unhindered delivery of its aid. To then also continue to demand the immediate and unimpeded entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza, including medical supplies, fuel, and food
2.	To sever economic ties and impose sanctions against Israel for its ongoing violent occupation of Palestine and continued disregard for international law. This attack on Madleen, in addition to their innumerable ongoing attacks, blatantly violates international law and defies the International Court of Justice’s binding orders.
3.	To continue to add Australia’s support for a permanent and sustained ceasefire. Further, to strongly support international legal accountability for Israel.
4.	Support domestic legal safeguards, such as the Red Lines Package of legislation, to ensure Australia does not aid or abet war crimes, illegal settlements and crimes against humanity.

We trust that the Australian government will take immediate and decisive action to protect the Madleen and uphold its responsibilities to humanitarian principles.

Please confirm receipt of this urgent email and advise on the immediate steps being taken.

How we use the data you enter on this form

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?