Cape man assails Israeli raid that swept up his son
A Brewster man whose son was on board a ship attempting to deliver relief supplies to the Gaza Strip says Israel acted without justification when it raided the vessels, killing nine people.
Joseph Bangert described his son, Fiachra Ó Luain, a 28-year-old Irish activist, as a "seed of peace.''
"This was an attack on a completely peaceful flotilla," Bangert said by telephone today, as Boston activists protested the raid on the flotilla for a second day and supporters of Israel in Massachusetts defended the country's right to protect itself.
Bangert said his son is in Israeli custody in the port city of Ashdod. He has not been able to speak with him directly but has received updates from several sources, including the US State Department, the office of Senator John F. Kerry, and the Irish diplomatic corps. His son is contesting deportation proceedings, Bangert said.
Bangert had received earlier reports that his son had been injured in the raid. But he said that he saw an online video of his son leaving the ship and that he did not appear to be seriously hurt.
"I saw him alive and walking, which was a great relief," he said.
The Israeli Consulate in Boston said today that neither Ó Luain nor Sheetz was injured in the raid. Continued
Joseph Bangert, the father, is a brother Vietnam Veteran and I understand a brother member of Veterans for Peace as well.
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