I spoke with Yasemin Acar, one of the twelve activists aboard the Madleen, the humanitarian boat that departed from Sicily on June 1, 2025, bound for Gaza. The mission was clear: to deliver powdered milk, rice, flour, and medical supplies to a population under siege. The Madleen was sailing under a UK flag and remained entirely in international waters — more than 100 nautical miles from Israel’s coastline — when it was intercepted and forcibly boarded by the Israeli Navy. The passengers were detained without charge and transferred against their will to Ashdod. Among them was Yasemin.
Acar, 37, was born in Germany to Kurdish parents from Turkey. She has been politically active since the age of 15, organizing around refugee rights and anti-Muslim racism. She helped mobilize 15,000 volunteers during the Ukraine war and today leads solidarity efforts with Palestine in Berlin. “This isn’t charity,” she said. “It’s about justice. Don’t ask for peace — demand justice. Where there is justice, peace follows.”
She described the attack in detail: drones released chemical agents on the boat before the military stormed it. Acar believes the unit involved is the same one accused of war crimes at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. “They weren’t soldiers,” she said. “They were trained to kill.”
“If Israel can abduct European civilians in international waters — and the world says nothing — imagine what they’re doing in Gaza, where no one’s watching.”
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