1,000 boats to leave Turkiye for Gaza waters in new ‘Freedom Flotilla’
MEMO | November 21, 2023
Approximately 1,000 international boats will gather in Turkiye on Wednesday before heading toward Gaza to break the Israeli blockade, Turkish media reports.
According to the report, in an interview with Turkish news website, Haber7, Volkan Okcu, one of the organisers of the protest, indicated the boats will carry 4,500 people from 40 countries, “including anti-Zionist Jews”.
Among the 1,000 vessels would be 313 boats filled with Russian activists, and 104 filled with Spanish activists, he said. Only 12 Turkish vessels will join the flotilla, he told Haber7.
The maritime convoy is set to make a first stop in Cyprus before continuing toward the Israeli port of Ashdod. Some participants in the flotilla will also reportedly take their spouses and children on board.
Putin names Russia’s ‘sacred duty’ in Gaza
RT | November 22, 2023
Moscow has a moral obligation to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza, Russian President Vladimir Putin argued on Wednesday. The day before, he told other BRICS leaders that he had been moved by videos depicting Palestinian children being operated on without anesthesia.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) accused Israel of routinely targeting medical facilities. The international watchdog also said that child deaths were an everyday occurrence in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Addressing the Russian cabinet via video link, President Putin said: “This is a very important, humanitarian, noble mission. We need to help people suffering as a result of the ongoing events.”
The Russian leader went on to describe the provision of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza as “our sacred duty.”
Attending an extraordinary BRICS online summit a day prior, the president noted that the “death of thousands of people, the mass displacement of the civilian population and the humanitarian catastrophe that has erupted” are cause for the “deepest concern.”
“When you watch how children are being operated on with no anesthesia – this of course arouses very special feelings,” Putin added.
While securing humanitarian truces is a key task in the short term, Moscow would like to see a lasting peace in the region, he noted. This can only be achieved on the basis of previous UN resolutions that call for the creation of two states – Israel and Palestine, the president said.
According to Putin, other BRICS member states share Russia’s stance in many respects, as demonstrated by the way they have voted at the UN General Assembly.
The group, he argued, could “play a key role” in resolving the decades-old conflict.
Earlier this month, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN Security Council that “on average, a child is killed every ten minutes in Gaza.” The official also said that Israel had attacked medical facilities, ambulances and patients in Gaza and the West Bank on at least 250 occasions since October 7, bringing the medical system in Gaza to “its knees.”
Israel unleashed its military operation following a deadly raid by Hamas militants that claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, last month. Since then, the death toll in Gaza has reached 13,000, according to Palestinian health authorities.
On Wednesday, the Israeli government approved a deal with Hamas under which the militant group is to release 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian female and child inmates held in Israeli custody, accompanied by a four-day truce.
Maldives looks to impose travel ban on Israeli citizens
The Cradle | November 21, 2023
A member of the Maldives parliament, Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla, put forth a proposal on 20 November to amend the national Immigration Act in order to prohibit Israeli passport holders from entering the country following Israel’s indiscriminate aggression against the Gaza Strip.
The MP affirmed that the objective of the amendment of the Immigration Act is to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv via a travel ban on its citizens in the wake of Israel’s deadly besiege of the Gaza enclave. Currently, the Israeli military has killed over 12,300 Palestinian civilians, including over 5,000 children, since the start of Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October.
The Maldives is a member of the Organization for Islamic Corporation (OIC) member, which has already invoked a travel ban on Israeli civilians. Abdulla is pushing to pass his proposal in alignment with the rest of the IOC and expressing Maldives’ solidarity with Palestine.
Last week, demonstrators gathered in front of the Maldivian parliament, voicing their anger over Israel’s actions and violence in Gaza, and calling for an immediate travel ban.
In January 2022, Israeli government sources claimed that the Maldives had initiated steps to rekindle diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, a bond that was broken in 1974. Following the war on Gaza in 2014, the Maldives cut ties with Israel entirely and banned all imports from the country.
Since the start of the conflict, several countries have withdrawn their Israeli ambassadors, including Colombia, Honduras, Jordan, Bahrain, and Turkiye, while nations such as Bolivia and Belize have suspended relations with Israel.
Criticism of the Israeli government among EU officials has also heightened in recent weeks in response to Tel Aviv’s brutal campaign. Last week, the President of the Belgian Senate, Stephanie D’Hose rejected a request by the Israeli ambassador to Brussels to showcase a 47-minute film claiming to show atrocities committed by Hamas during its 7 October attack on Israel.
This came a week after the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Petra De Sutter, urged the EU community to impose sanctions against Israel.
“We cannot look away while children are killed every day in Gaza,” De Sutter said.
“It is time for sanctions against Israel. The rain of bombs is inhumane. It is clear that Israel does not care about the international demands for a ceasefire.”
On 15 November, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, also called on Israel to stop their aggression against Palestinians. His condemnation has been described as one of the harshest by a western leader since the start of the war. Madird’s Social Rights Minister, Ione Belarra, also condemned Israel’s approach.
Pro-Palestine activists shutting down arms factories that aid Gaza genocide
Press TV – November 21, 2023
A group of pro-Palestine activists on Monday blocked the driveway entrances to Lockheed Martin subsidiary ForwardEdgeASIC in the western US state of Minnesota for aiding the genocide in Gaza.
The demonstrators held banners that read “No money for weapons” and “Divest from Lockheed.”
Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), an advocacy group that organizes street protests against US aid to the Israeli regime, in a post on X on Monday described the action as a “victory.”
“VICTORY!! Production was stopped ALL DAY at ForwardEdge ASIC, Lockheed’s subsidiary in St. Paul that makes microelectronics for weapons systems,” the tweet stated.
“Activists with the Free Palestine Coalition blocked entrances & faced down police for almost 8 hours! Building got decorated too!”
Andrew Josefchak, a member of the Minnesota AWC, was quoted as saying that they want Lockheed out of their city as it aids the genocide of civilians in Gaza.
“The reason why I’m here today specifically is because Lockheed’s bombs and jets are being used to massacre civilians,” he stated, noting that Lockheed provides weapons used by Israel to bomb Gaza.
As a mark of protest against the Israeli regime’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has assumed alarming proportions, activists in Western countries have also upped the ante.
In recent weeks, pro-Palestine advocacy groups have intensified their campaign against corporations and industries that aid the occupying regime’s war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged territory.
On Sunday, the Minnesota AWC organized a rally on the bridge over the Mississippi River that saw the participation of thousands of protesters, who marched to Minnesota Governor Walz’s Eastcliff house.
“There is blood on the hands of not only these companies, but also Governor Tim Walz and his SBI for continuing to invest in these companies, and yet when we cry out for Israeli bombs to stop for good, when we demand an end to the brutal, unjustified occupation, we’re called anti-Semites,” Skyler Dorr, a worker at the University of Minnesota, was quoted as saying by Fightback News.
“We don’t want to teach our kids that genocide is okay, and we don’t want teachers fired for speaking out against Israel,” Drake Myers, a member of the Minnesota AWC, stated.
According to reports, the aerospace and weapons industry has seen a significant jump in profits after Israel launched its murderous attacks on Gaza on October 7.
As President Joe Biden’s $14 billion military aid for the Tel Aviv regime awaits congressional green light, companies such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing are likely to have a big boost in profits.
It has enraged pro-Palestine activists in the US and other Western countries who have been organizing peaceful demonstrations and forcing the closure of factories belonging to these corporations.
Hundreds of pro-Palestine activists staged a protest at one of the entrances to US Air Force Plant 44 in Arizona on November 2, which Raytheon, a major US military contractor, operates.
“The bombs and the rockets and all those weapons of mass destruction are made in the US, so everybody needs to be held accountable who participates in this genocide, either directly or indirectly,” Abdulaziz, who attended the demonstration, was quoted as saying by Prism Reports.
Five days later, on November 8, half a dozen activists were arrested after they held a die-in protest outside the arms company’s offices in Arlington, Virginia. The protestors, however, remained unfazed.
On November 13, protesters stormed a Raytheon factory in California’s El Segundo, blocking its gates.
Similar demonstrations have been held against other military contractors as well, such as Boeing, which is one of the biggest arms importers to the Israeli regime.
A report in Bloomberg last month, citing unnamed US officials, said the company has accelerated the delivery of around 1,800 kits “that convert unguided bombs into precision munitions.”
On November 6, pro-Palestine demonstrators blocked the entrances to a Boeing factory in Missouri.
It was followed by another protest on November 9 outside the headquarters of Northrop Grumman in San Diego.
Northrop Grumman, according to the Mapping Project, sells “extensive amounts of weapons and military technologies to Israel, as well as the US military and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).”
“Northrop Grumman is deeply complicit in Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland and theft of Palestinian resources,” it states.
Pro-Palestine activists have also been targeting Elbit Systems, in both the US and the UK, in recent weeks. The largest weapons supplier to Israel has seen a staggering rise in its stocks since October 7.
On October 31, more than two weeks after Israel launched its genocidal attacks on Gaza, Palestine Action US “completely halted” a factory of Elbit Systems in Boston.
Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “Elbit Systems has got to go” and “You’re defending genocide of children”, calling for the closure of the arms factory.
According to its website, the American subsidiary of the arms company has operational facilities in the US states of Texas, New Hampshire, Alabama, Virginia and Florida.
Before the crackdown on the Boston plant, pro-Palestine activists also forced the closure of Elbit Systems’ Cambridge facility, “to prevent Elbit employees from going to work.”
“The weapons Israel is deploying to surveil, maim, and mass murder Palestinians are supplied by a company that operates right here in our city,” said the statement issued by the community members.
“Elbit weapons are being used to murder Palestinians right now. We will not let Elbit continue business as usual! Weapons companies don’t belong in our neighbourhoods!”
Palestine Action UK has also intensified its actions against Elbit Systems factories in England since October 7, with their activists even climbing the roof of the factory in the city of Lichfield.
“Palestine Action activists occupy the roof of the Israeli weapons factory Elbit Systems in the town of Shenstone, England, in protest of its production of equipment used in Israel’s murder of innocent Palestinians,” Palestine Action UK said in a statement on October 31.
Since July 2022, when pro-Palestine activists stormed the headquarters of Elbit Systems in London, the group has frequently targeted the company factories in different cities across the UK.
The group has permanently shut down at least two Elbit plants in less than two years, including its London headquarters and a Ferranti factory in Oldham, according to Counterfire.
In recent weeks, they have blockaded the entrance of the company’s Bristol plant, shutting down its operations. They have also closed the company’s factory in Kent.
Declassified UK recently revealed that the British government has approved at least £472m in arms sales to the Israeli regime in the past eight years, ignoring the genocide in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, eight Palestine Action activists, including the group’s co-founders, face trial at London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court for their protests against Elbit Systems
In Canada, pro-Palestine activists on Monday blocked a Canadian National Railway line in downtown Winnipeg, calling for an immediate halt to Tel Aviv’s unchecked aggression on Gaza.
The protesters, who carried Palestinian flags and signs that read “ceasefire now” and “Palestine will never die”, forced at least two trains to halt.
CN partners with Israel’s largest shipping company Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM). A protester was quoted as saying by CBC that CN is “very vital” for Israel to access the North American market.
Economic Implications of the Yemeni Seizure of the Galaxy Leader
Sputnik – 21.11.2023
As confirmed by multiple media sources, the ship seized by the Houthis in the Red Sea is the Bahamian flagged Galaxy Leader. According to marinetaffic.com, this ship is designed to carry vehicles, and has a capacity of 1500 passenger cars.
The ship was en route from the Turkish port of Korfez to the Indian port of Pipavav with 25 crew members, including Bulgarians, Filipinos, Mexicans and Ukrainians, but no Israelis on board.
According to Reuters, Netanyahu’s office described the ship as ” British-owned and Japanese-operated”, adding that, “There were no Israelis on the ship,” and “Israel was not involved in its ownership or operation.” However, Yemen’s official news agency, SABA, states that multiple Israeli news media have reported that “The ship controlled by the “Houthis” belongs to the Israeli billionaire Rami Unger, who is close to the Mossad.” Unger is, indeed, a veteran of the Intelligence Corp of the IDF, and has had a decades long close personal and business relationship with Yossi Cohen, the former Director of Mossad, and National Security Advisor to Netanyahu.
In 2019, the personal net worth of Rami Unger and his wife was estimated at $2.1 billion. In 2004, it was reported that Unger owned between 12 and 14 vehicle transport ships, worth about $50 million each, a reasonable estimate of the value of the Galaxy Leader, which was built in 2002. The political and economic impact of this operation goes far beyond the mere value of the ship.
In spite of the estimated $50 million cost/value of the ship, from an economic point of view, it is actually of little worth to the Houthis. They can’t sell it, they can’t use it, Unger and his insurance companies probably won’t ransom it. The ship was sailing without cargo, which if it had been, would have been approximately 1,500 new cars, worth between $20 and $30 million in total. So, clearly, there was no economic benefit from the seizure of the vessel for the Houthis, but the full political and economic ramifications remain to be seen.
It should be understood that the Houthis have not just seized the Galaxy Leader, they have put all Israeli shipping in the Red Sea under threat. The value of that shipping can be roughly estimated by the fact that out of Israel’s $165 billion in total exports in 2022, 24% went to Asian markets. The shortest shipping route from the Mediterranean to Asia is the Suez Canal. Everything that goes through the Suez Canal goes through the Red Sea, and 12% of all global trade passes through the Suez Canal. With these calculations, the economic impact on the Israeli economy by the seizure of this single ship can be estimated in the billions of dollars. The Houthi area of military operations in the southern Red Sea is more than 1,000 miles from Israel, and beyond the reach of timely Israeli military response.
Economic warfare and military warfare are two sides of the same coin. The Houthis, with one helicopter and less than a dozen commandos, have hit the Israeli economy as hard as the entire Israeli military is hitting the people of Gaza. All in all, it must be admitted, it was a successful gambit. Especially considering that it was a bloodless operation in which, unlike the Israeli operation in Gaza, no one was harmed.
Of course, like the October 7th Hamas attack, Netanyahu could very well try to exploit this incident to “justify” another Israeli attack, this time on Iran. War is by nature, always full of dangers and deception. However, the Houthis are likely to find broad and real support for their raid across the Arab and Muslim world.
In an announcement by Yemeni Armed Forces, ” the Armed Forces renewed their warning to all ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or dealing with it that they will become a legitimate target. It called on all countries whose nationals work in the Red Sea to refrain from any work or activity with Israeli ships or ships owned by Israelis.” The statement pointed out that the operations of the armed forces only threaten the ships of Israel and those owned by Israelis, as was previously indicated.
Raisi Calls on BRICS Leaders to Use Economic, Political Opportunities to Pressure Israel
Sputnik – 21.11.2023
TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday called on BRICS leaders to use all economic and political opportunities to put pressure on Israel.
Amid escalating horrors in the Gaza Strip during the “second phase” of Israel’s conflict with Hamas, the former has intensified its actions, resulting in a rise in civilian casualties. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in response, has called on BRICS leaders to leverage economic and political avenues to exert pressure on the Israeli government.
“The United States has made all international organizations faceless. Iran wants BRICS members and governments to stand up for security, establish justice and fight racial discrimination in the world, as well as use all their political and economic opportunities and power to exert pressure on Israel and its supporters from Western countries,” Raisi at the BRICS extraordinary summit on the Middle East.
Raisi urged the BRICS countries to recognize the Israeli government as a “terrorist regime.”
“Israel’s continuous attacks on hospitals, medical centers and religious sites, as well as the murder of women and children, doctors, nurses and journalists are acts of terrorism, and it is necessary to recognize the Israeli regime as a terrorist regime and its army as a terrorist organization,” Raisi said.
BRICS countries must adopt a resolution at the UN to stop Israel’s crimes in the Gaza Strip, Raisi said.
Imam Khamenei Urges Muslim Countries to Cut Zionist Regime’s Lifeline
Al-Manar | November 19, 2023
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei has described the Zionist regime as a manifestation of racial discrimination, urging Muslim countries to cut the lifeline of the Zionist regime of Israel.
Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei made these remarks during his visit to the IRGC Aerospace Forces exhibition on Sunday.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that Zionists consider themselves to be a superior race and consider the rest of human beings to be inferior, and that is why they have killed thousands of children without any remorse.
He described scientific achievements, such as the ones showcased in the exhibition, to be the result of a motivation based on determination and faith.
Whatever field our young people entered with determination and faith, they have been able to do great jobs, he stressed.
The signs of determination and faith were clearly evident in this exhibition, he stated.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to innovation as another feature of the event, saying, “We should not be content with the current level of success because various military and civilian sectors in the world are progressing, and we must try not to stay behind.”
Referring to the developments in Palestine and the continuation of the Zionist regime’s crimes in Gaza, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the developments in Gaza revealed many hidden truths to the people of the world, one of which is the support of the heads of Western countries for racial discrimination.
When the US president, the German chancellor, the French president, and the British prime minister aid and abet such a racist regime, it means that they support racial discrimination as the most detestable issue in the world, he noted.
The people of Europe and America should clarify their stance on this situation and show that they are not in favor of racial discrimination, he stressed.
Despite extensive bombings in Gaza, the Zionist regime has failed to achieve its goal of destroying Hamas and the resistance, even after more than 40 days of using all their military power, he stated.
Ayatollah Khamenei described the brutal bombing of hospitals and women and children in Gaza as a sign of the extreme frustration of the Zionist regime’s leader about their defeat, saying that the defeat of the Zionist regime in Gaza is a fact and entering hospitals or people’s houses is not a victory.
Victory means defeating the other party, which the Zionist regime has not been able to achieve so far and will not be able to in the future, he reiterated.
Some Islamic governments apparently condemned the Zionist regime’s crimes in public gatherings, he said adding that some others have not done so yet, which is not acceptable.
He urged Islamic countries to stop exporting energy and goods to the Zionist regime and to cut off their political relationship with the Zionist regime, at least for a limited period.
Yemeni Military Spokesman Warns: All Types of Israeli Ships Will Be Under Fire
Al-Manar | November 19, 2023
In the context of the major support provided by the Yemeni people and armed forces to the Palestinian people and resistance against the Israeli barbaric war on Gaza, the military spokesman General Yahya Sarea warned that all the types of the Israeli ships will be struck by the Yemeni missiles.
In light of the religious, national, and ethical responsibilities and considering the heinous Israeli-American aggression against the Gaza Strip, characterized by daily massacres and genocidal acts, and in response to the demands of the Yemeni people and the aspirations of free nations to aid our oppressed brethren in Gaza, General Sarea said in a statement..
The statement added that the Yemeni Armed Forces declare their intention to target all types of ships as follows:
1. Ships carrying the flag of the Zionist entity.
2. Ships operated by Israeli companies.
3. Ships owned by Israeli companies.
According to the statement, the Yemeni Armed Forces also call upon all countries of the world to:
A. Withdraw their citizens working within the crews of these ships.
B. Avoid shipping goods aboard these ships or engaging in transactions with them.
C. Notify your vessels to stay away from these ships.
Leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement Abdul Malik Badreddine Al-Houthi on Tuesday announced that Yemeni forces would intensify attacks on Israeli targets in occupied Palestine, stating intention to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The Yemeni Armed Forces announced the launch of multiple ballistic missiles targeting strategic locations of the Zionist entity in the southern part of the occupied territories. The strikes included military targets in the Um Al-Rashrash area, ‘Eilat’.
Yemeni naval forces seize Israeli-linked vessel

The Cradle | November 19, 2023
Fifty-two crew members on an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea were detained by Yemeni naval forces who intercepted and seized the vessel on 19 October, sources told Al-Mayadeen.
An official Yemeni source confirmed to the outlet that the news is true.
Saudi media also reported that Yemeni forces seized the Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader vessel. According to Hebrew media reports, the ship is owned by a British company owned by Israeli businessman Abraham Unger, who goes by the name ‘Rami.’
In an official statement, the Israeli army described the incident as “very serious” and clarified that the ship was not Israeli:
“The ship departed from Turkiye on its way to India, staffed by civilians of various nationalities, not including Israelis.”
The Yemeni army is expected to release a statement later on Sunday.
Yemen’s Armed Forces, allied with the Ansarallah resistance movement, had announced earlier in a statement on 19 November that they would target all vessels associated with Israel in the Red Sea.
“To provide relief to our oppressed people in Gaza,” the armed forces announced, “they will target … ships carrying the flag of the Zionist entity, ships operated by Israeli companies, ships owned by Israeli companies.”
The Yemeni statement also calls on “all countries of the world to withdraw citizens working on the crews of these ships,” to “avoid shipping on or handling these vessels,” and to “inform ships to stay away from these vessels.”
This is not the first statement issued by Ansarallah and the Yemeni army vowing to attack Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea.
Less than one week ago, Ansarallah leader Abdel Malik al-Houthi said that “eyes are open,” and vowed to “monitor and locate Israeli ships in the Red Sea.”
“We will continue to plan for additional operations. We can’t stop,” he said, adding that “we will not hesitate to target” Israeli-linked ships.
The Yemeni resistance has been carrying out frequent drone and missile attacks against Israel, which it began last month in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
In response, the Israeli army has deployed warships to the Red Sea.
According to Hebrew media reports, some of these attacks have been intercepted by Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Nonetheless, Yemen has vowed to continue attacking Israel.
The Prime Minister of Yemen’s National Salvation Government (NSG), Abdulaziz bin Habtour, said on 10 November that Sanaa will continue to conduct attacks on Israel for as long as the ethnic cleansing campaign of Gaza continues.
Bin Habtour added that the attacks will continue despite possible setbacks to peace talks with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, as fighting for Palestine is “a sacred duty for every Muslim and Arab.”
The Sanaa government has also decided to ban all US-made goods and those produced by international companies that support Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Calls to ‘Stop the Shots’ Intensify
By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender | November 15, 2023
Activist groups, medical organizations and doctors around the globe are launching initiatives seeking to halt the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines or to have them pulled from the market altogether.
These efforts, including educational campaigns, legal challenges and petitions, cite the high number of adverse events and revelations regarding vaccine contamination as factors that may lead to the vaccines being recalled.
Several individuals involved with these initiatives told The Defender their efforts are beginning to make a noticeable difference — but that more work is needed.
“People are waking up to the fact that they were misled, and they are starting to demand answers from their elected officials and the safety and regulatory agencies that they trusted with the health of their children, but who lied to them,” said Janci Lindsay, Ph.D., director of toxicology and molecular biology for Toxicology Support Services and co-founder of the We The People 50 — Recall The Shots campaign.
Bradford Geyer, an attorney with the FormerFedsGroup Freedom Foundation, which launched the We The People 50 initiative, told The Defender the response to the initiative has been supportive.
“Our movement is clearly growing, as Americans and citizens of other nations realize what governments and Big Pharma have done to them.”
COVID vaccines ‘must be stopped for the sake of humanity’
In the U.S., the We The People 50 initiative is calling for “the recall of the COVID-19 genetic ‘vaccines’ due to the large numbers of deaths, disabilities, and unreasonable harm they pose.”
The initiative is made up of doctors, scientists, attorneys, advocates, authors, researchers, victims and concerned citizens, according to Lindsay, who said the group’s mission is to save lives and protect the most vulnerable groups from these dangerous genetic vaccines.
“We are potentially contaminating the entire human gene pool with these reckless technologies, with almost zero oversight as to their consequences to humans, animals and the environment,” Lindsay said. “It must be stopped for the sake of humanity.”
The campaign was inspired by Dr. John Witcher, a Mississippi doctor who advocated for the recall of the COVID-19 vaccines in his state. Witcher, a former gubernatorial candidate in Mississippi, told The Defender his efforts began in September 2021, when he launched Mississippi Against Mandates.
Initially, the movement organized protests and rallies and a public awareness campaign, opposing vaccine mandates. “Our primary focus was to stop the mandates and be cautious of the shots,” Witcher said.
According to Witcher, a turning point came in late October 2021, when Dr. Peter McCullough spoke at a roundtable organized by the Mississippi group, during which he said the COVID-19 vaccines were unsafe for humans.
After that, Witcher said, the group “turned not just against the mandates but against the shots.”
In February, what was previously a statewide effort became a national initiative, following a meeting at the Mississippi Capitol where McCullough and other doctors, and several vaccine-injured individuals and their family members, spoke.
The We The People 50 campaign was spun off of the February event, Witcher said.
Lindsay said that based on Witcher’s efforts, she connected with Carolyn Blakeman, media director and task force coordinator of the FormerFedsGroup, to launch the campaign nationwide, seeking to “take this strategy of bringing a small group of testifying experts from all health disciplines, as well as vaccine-injured, to all 50 states.”
Recent research revealed that a significant percentage of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are contaminated with DNA and bacterial contaminants that can alter the human genome and trigger cancer and other serious conditions. Last month, Health Canada acknowledged the presence of such contamination in COVID-19 vaccines.
Genome integrity, informed consent, medical autonomy among key issues
“We have met with state legislators and with state attorneys and have spoken at multiple county commissioner meetings,” Lindsay said. “[We] helped draft laws around genetic vaccine safety, informed consent, medical autonomy, the right to maintain genome integrity, the right to be free from non-consensual transfection (shedding) and the right to deny coerced or forced medical treatments.”
According to Lindsay, the group “plans to leverage” consumer product protection statutes in several states “to get the shots pulled outright, or at the very least, to force the states to provide true informed consent.”
The initiative also calls into question the legal immunity of vaccine manufacturers under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, on the basis of state consumer protection laws and willful misconduct laws.
Geyer said, “The basis for such action is that these vaccines are contaminated and adulterated and proven to be dangerous and deadly.”
A class-action lawsuit filed in California in September on behalf of two remdesivir victims and supported by the FormerFedsGroup is based on similar arguments — namely that Gilead, remdesivir’s distributor, may have violated California laws against using deceptive practices, including the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
“The end goal is to get these shots pulled out of the consumer product stream and the genetic vaccine platform, banned in its entirety and those who developed, manufactured and administered these shots under false pretext, held accountable,” Lindsay said.
Geyer added, “The ultimate goal of the initiative would be to pressure local and state governments to take action by denying the access of citizens, particularly children, to these gene therapies.”
“We realize that a lot of it’s a political battle,” Witcher said. “We have to get our politicians involved and turn the tide, and certainly we need lawyers involved. So we’re just trying to educate people and to advocate for and protect people.”
AAPS calls for COVID vaccine moratorium: ‘Numerous safety signals’ ignored
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), “a non-partisan professional association of physicians in all types of practices and specialties across the country,” has called for a moratorium on COVID-19 shot mandates and genetic injections.
A March 2023 AAPS statement says: “Informed consent is a bedrock principle of medical ethics, yet millions of people have taken COVID-19 injections under duress,” even though “The long-term effects of the novel mRNA or DNA technology and the lipid nanoparticles involved in their administration … cannot possibly be known.”
“Numerous safety signals, including excess sudden deaths, that would in the past have prompted immediate withdrawal of vaccines or drugs from the market,” have been observed, according to the AAPS.
As a result, the AAPS states that “COVID-19 genetic injections should be withdrawn from the market” and “All mandates, including requirements for school attendance or work, should immediately be withdrawn.”
Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the AAPS, told The Defender that the organization’s call for a moratorium was prompted by the increase in vaccine mandates for uncommon, mild or treatable diseases. She said that “AAPS has always been against mass treatment that does not consider individual patients’ needs and [their] consent.”
Notably, in 2000, the AAPS issued a resolution opposing vaccine mandates, citing the importance of informed consent.
In November 2020, the AAPS said there were “many unknowns” related to the COVID-19 vaccines, including “long-term adverse effects,” adding that treatments like hydroxychloroquine have prevented COVID-19 deaths “without the adverse effects that could occur in vaccinating vast numbers of healthy people.”
When asked why other medical associations have not joined AAPS in calling for a moratorium on the COVID-19 vaccines, Orient cited conflicts of interest and fear of retaliation by government or private stakeholders.
World Council for Health: ‘Collateral damage’ of COVID vaccines unprecedented
Another organization calling for a moratorium on the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines is the World Council for Health (WCH), which last month convened an expert panel that discussed the presence of “cancer-promoting DNA contamination” in the vaccines.
According to the WCH, the panel concluded that “Covid vaccines are contaminated with foreign DNA and … SV40, a cancer-promoting genetic sequence,” and “qualify as GMO (genetically modified organism) products, which require approval in addition to that required for older, more traditional vaccines.”
“Informed consent for these products is impossible as the risks of the products have never been formally and transparently assessed by regulators and are not fully known,” the organization states.
As a result, the WCH called for “An immediate moratorium on these novel genetic ‘vaccines,’” in a statement which, according to Nic Robinson, the organization’s operations manager, was sent to U.K. members of Parliament.
Christof Plothe, D.O., a member of the WCH’s steering committee, told The Defender that “No medical intervention has ever created as much ‘collateral damage’ to the health of the people” as the COVID-19 vaccines.
“We now know that the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 and even dying of COVID-19 increases after each injection,” he said, adding, “In light of the unacceptable DNA plasmid contamination and the undeclared genetic sequences in the Pfizer vials, we have to fear integration of foreign genetic sequences, with unknown consequences.”
As a follow-up to last month’s panel of medical experts, the WCH will organize an expert international legal panel on Nov. 20, according to Robinson.
He added that the WCH has organized country councils, “a key strategic part of our plan to decentralize and inform individuals and communities and push back against centralized power and overreach, including COVID vaccine mandates and lockdowns.”
“The red line has been crossed, and every human being in charge of their distribution, whether in pharma, politics, medical regulatory bodies or the media, now has to say, stop the shots,” Plothe said.
The WCH has previously issued calls for the COVID-19 vaccines to be withdrawn, including in June 2022, based on the release of a WCH report on COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse reactions, and in September 2022, following the release of a peer-reviewed paper on such adverse events.
In June 2021, Dr. Tess Lawrie, co-founder of the WCH, called upon the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to immediately halt the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines, citing a high number of deaths and injuries.
‘Few actions more necessary or noble’ than stopping mRNA COVID vaccines
A group of German doctors has also launched an initiative to end COVID-19 vaccinations — by reaching out to their colleagues in the medical profession.
An open letter authored by German doctors Uta Kristein Haberecht and Monika Grühn, and by Harald Walach, Ph.D., founder of the Change Health Science Institute in Germany and professional research fellow at Kazimieras Simonavicius University in Lithuania, is attempting to alert other doctors about the risks of the COVID-19 vaccines.
The letter states:
“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was quite understandable that there were calls from various quarters to find a vaccine and distribute it quickly. It was assumed that the COVID-19 disease was dangerous to the general population, and that a vaccine could eliminate that danger. Therefore, regulatory hurdles for these substances were set low and potential danger signals were ignored.
“We have gained a great deal of new insights. … The vaccines offer much less protection than was originally anticipated … at the price of far more side effects than had been assumed and that one is willing to accept with other vaccines.”
The letter, which includes a scientific appendix with over 50 scholarly references, discusses concerns about the spike protein’s toxicity and its impact on fertility.
The letter calls for sharing differing scientific opinions and for public agencies and policymakers to conduct accurate surveys, investigations and audits through independent research.
“A dialogue at eye level is crucial for the preservation and maintenance of the medical ethos (Geneva Conventions, Nuremberg Code),” the letter adds.
Grühn told The Defender :
“We critical thinkers often keep to ourselves, but many other doctors and healthcare professionals know very little about the dangers of the genetic vaccine platform, while being informed one-sidedly. Often, they do not have the time to do their own investigations.
“It therefore makes sense to approach them in a friendly and clear fashion and provide them with factual information so that they can form their own opinion.”
Walach told The Defender :
“There are now a lot of studies published that show the shots do not prevent infection. They do not prevent serious illness. They do not reduce mortality by any appreciable margin. But they produce many side effects.”
“Given that the benefits are very small to non-existent and the potential problems many, this must be stopped,” he said, adding “The mainstream press has not taken up any of these well-documented facts, and thus this is largely unknown to the public.”
In New Zealand, another doctor is also taking action. Dr. Emanuel Garcia, a psychiatrist who relocated from the U.S., has produced a petition calling upon the country’s government to ban all mRNA-based therapeutics.
According to the petition:
“mRNA therapeutics pose potentially catastrophic dangers; a recent study of the risks of mRNA vaccination shows that it can modify the human genome; many other aspects of mRNA-based therapies are unknown; the human genome is the very genetic blueprint of every individual, defines our health and well-being, and should be an inviolable entity.”
“In the past New Zealand has taken a pioneering position on the use of nuclear arms. We should do so now for mRNA-based interventions,” it states.
Writing on his Substack, Garcia said, “I can think of few actions more necessary or noble for a country to take at this time.”
The Malaysian Council for Health, the Malaysian Alliance for Effective Covid Control, and Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia issued a joint statement on Nov. 7 questioning the continued administration of the COVID-19 vaccines.
The statement references an increase in excess deaths in Malaysia and the contamination of the COVID-19 vaccines, stating that such contamination “has legal implications.” The statement suggests the legal immunity of vaccine manufacturers should “be nullified” on the basis that the contaminants are “undeclared ingredient[s].”
“Malaysian consumers would like to know if the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency … of our health ministry is aware of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine contamination,” the statement says. “As this is both a very serious matter and alarming, the alleged malfeasance may also be a case of assisting and abetting.”
Legal cases worldwide target COVID vaccines
In Australia, attorney Katie Ashby-Koppens is seeking an injunction against Pfizer and Moderna on the basis that they are distributing products — their COVID-19 vaccines — containing GMOs, without a license to do so.
In a recent interview, Ashby-Koppens said, “The allegations are that the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are genetically modified organisms by way of definition under the Gene Technology Act in Australia, as they are capable of transferring genetic material.”
“The fact that they are able to transfer genetic material means that those products should have been properly considered by the gene technology regulator in Australia. And they were not,” she added.
In Costa Rica, an ongoing court case will rule on a call to halt COVID-19 vaccines.
In a case filed by Interest of Justice (IOJ) against Costa Rica’s government, the country’s Administrative Contentious Court of Appeals, IOJ argues that authorities “lied” about COVID-19 vaccines being “safe and effective,” claiming they were aware the vaccines are “known to be harmful” and that “death is common.”
A hearing took place on Nov. 9 in which precautionary measures (akin to a temporary injunction) requested by IOJ were denied. However, according to IOJ, the judges appeared sympathetic and “extremely concerned” and granted IOJ the opportunity to submit a new filing, which will lead to a trial.
Experts including Dr. Mike Yeadon, former global head of respiratory diseases for Pfizer and current IOJ chief scientist, and internist Ana Mihalcea, M.D., Ph.D., testified remotely.
In South Africa, a lawsuit filed in January with the Pretoria High Court by three non-profit organizations seeks a moratorium on the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Shabnam Palesa Mohamed is the executive director of Children’s Health Defense Africa and founder of the health advocacy organization Transformative Health Justice, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit. She told The Defender they’ve called for COVID-19 shots to be stopped until a full and independent investigation is conducted into their safety and efficacy.
The lawsuit includes a letter signed by over 100 South African healthcare workers attesting to adverse events they have observed in patients who received the COVID-19 vaccines and references the death of 14-year-old Yamkela Seplan, who developed a severe lump on her arm post-vaccination and subsequently died.
The first part of the case was heard in September and a ruling is pending.
‘We should not lose any time’
Several experts expressed a sense of urgency. Walach told The Defender, “It is feared that the mod-RNA platform will be surreptitiously used for standard vaccines as well.”
“We should not lose any time, as the health and lives of many of our fellow human beings are at stake,” Grühn said. “The aim is to extend this hazardous modRNA technology to many other vaccines.”
In a recent interview, German-Thai microbiologist Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi told The Defender that the present moment represents the best chance we’ve ever had to oppose continued administration of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
“We need to grasp this chance” because of “the knowledge that is now available that these vaccines are condemning humanity to oblivion,” he said, adding they “contain substances that will alter you genetically. You will not be the same human.”
“These are gene-therapeutic preventive medications, and they should be called by their real name and not ‘vaccinations,’” Walach said. “As soon as this becomes clear, people might think twice.”
“The end goal is, of course, total control over us, meaning not only over our finances, but also over our genes,” Bhakdi said.
Experts also called for legal consequences for the agencies and individuals who authorized the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines to the public.
“More is needed. [We] demand that safety signals be investigated promptly and thoroughly, as has been customary and is required by law,” Orient said.
“Politicians and regulators that are responsible for this, and media that created the fear atmosphere that allowed for this to go unnoticed, should answer for this,” Walach said.
“The COVID response violated constitutional rights and medical ethics,” Orient said. “Officials need to be held individually accountable. Emergency powers need to be constrained. We need institutions independent of the medical-industrial-regulatory-censorship complex.”
“Our members and loved ones were grievously mistreated and betrayed by the nation’s public health agencies and they seek accountability and justice,” Geyer said. “Our movement is growing, and U.S. politicians of all stripes will find it increasingly untenable to ignore us. We look forward to the day when the guilty parties are held accountable.”
Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., based in Athens, Greece, is a senior reporter for The Defender and part of the rotation of hosts for CHD.TV’s “Good Morning CHD.”
This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.
