A deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza caused uproar in the Middle East and the world today. Currently, in our hotel room, I'm watching the Turkish Foreign Minister speak at an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting. Protests and riots have broken out, primarily in Turkey and Palestine, and also Jordan. We received a travel alert, but the protests are mostly in Amman. I haven't seen any in Irbid yet. I've been watching AlJazeera all day, and reading U.S. newspapers and Web sites, and the difference is astounding. I first saw news about the attack at 6AM my time. I was talking to Jimmy, who couldn't find anything about it. The New York Times still only has one story online, and it tells Israel's side for the entire first page. Meanwhile, on AlJazeera they've been interviewing a variety of government officials, protesters and commentators from all sides of the story––Israel, Gaza, Turkey, United States, France, London, etc. This is not a light issue. Turkey has said relations with Israel could be irreparable after this, and Jordan and Egypt, two Arab countries who actually have peace treaties with Israel, are protesting the behavior and considering consequences. Israel attacked on international waters, and up to 19 people have been killed and dozens more injured. The pictures, audio clips and videos on AlJazeera are also much more graphic and telling than anything you would see on the news at home. Lucky for me, I'm learning Arabic and Farsi, and from what I've seen AJE is fond of blonde reporters. :)
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