Activists expelled for Gaza T-shirts

Four activists have been forced to leave an art gallery in New York for wearing T-shirts in support of the besieged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Eight people had worn black T-shirts with “NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM” printed on the front and “US BOAT TO GAZA” on the back. The writings were in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

The activists had worn the T-shirts on the final day of an exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery called “Next Year in Jerusalem,” in an effort to include an American boat in the next blockade-challenging aid convoy to break the Israeli siege on Gaza.

Half of the group had left when ordered to leave but the four refused to vacate the place and the police were called in to force the activists, who had tried to draw attention to their cause, to leave.

But according to witnesses, when one of the activists refused to go, she was pulled so roughly that she fell on the ground. The woman, who was in her late 50s, was dragged across the floor of two long rooms to the doorway. Police have denied the violence, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The activists explained that they were part of an organization called “US Boat to Gaza,” which plans to sponsor a ship in the next flotilla to sail against the Israeli blockade.