Buffalo Grove police responded to a report that anti-Semitic banners and anti-terrorist banners were being displayed in the area of Deerfield Parkway and Weiland on the north side of Deerfield Parkway near townhomes, and at Deerfield and Fabish. Two male/whites also reported to be bringing down the banners. A male about 35 years-old got out of a car and started yelling at the two males that were taking the signs down. Apparently the banners were displayed in protest of the Israeli commando raid Monday, May 31, 2010 in international waters off of the Gaza strip.
There have been demonstrations across the world in protest at Israel’s attack on an aid flotilla bound for convoy that killed nine and injured at least 60 passengers. International leaders condemned the raid.
Early Monday, Israeli soldiers attacked a flotilla of aid-carrying ships off the coast of the Gaza Strip, killing as many as 10 people on board. Israeli defense officials claim dozens of passengers who were aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of the flotilla that was raided by Israeli commandos, are suspected of having connections to terrorist organizations. The Israeli Army says it identified 50 passengers on the Mavi Marmara with terrorist links.
Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla carrying aid and protestors to Gaza, killing nine activists and sparking global outrage. The incident took place in international waters.
More than 1,000 protesters demonstrated outside Chicago’s Israeli consulate Tuesday, demanding an end to the blockade of Gaza and condemning Israel for killing at least nine activists on the Mavi Marmara.
MV Mavi Marmara is a Comoros-flagged passenger ship, which was formerly owned and operated by Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. (Turkish: İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri A.Ş.) (IDO) on the line Sarayburnu, Istanbul-Marmara Island-Avşa Island in the Sea of Marmara. Its name means Blue Marmara. Built at the Golden Gate Shipyard by Turkish Shipbuilding Co. in 1994, the ship has a capacity of 1,080 passengers.
The ship was purchased in 2010 by the Islamic charity IHH (İnsani Yardım Vakfı), the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief. It joined a flotilla of ships operated by activist groups bringing 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, blockaded by Egypt and Israel since 2007. The İHH acquired the ship at a cost of $800,000, to be defrayed by public donations, as no shipowner was willing to risk their vessel on the journey.
Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. One of the smaller countries in the world, the population is less than one million people, but very densely populated. Between 200,000 to 350,000 Comorians live in France.
The islands of the Comoros share mostly African-Arab origins. Sunni Islam is the dominant religion, representing as much as 98% of the population. Although Arab culture is firmly established throughout the archipelago, a minority of the population of Mayotte, mostly immigrants from metropolitan France, are Roman Catholic. Malagasy (Christian) and Indian (mostly Ismaili) minorities also exist, as well as minorities mostly descended from early French settlers. Chinese people are also present on Mayotte and parts of Grande Comore (especially Moroni). A small white minority of French with other European (i.e. Dutch, British and Portuguese) ancestry lives in Comoros. Most French left after independence in 1975.
Almost all of the educated populace of the Comoros has attended Quranic schools at some point in their life, often before regular schooling. Here boys and girls are taught about the Quran, and memorize it. Some parents specifically choose this early schooling to offset French schools children usually attend later. Since independence and the ejection of French teachers, the education system has been plagued by poor teacher training and poor results, though recent stability may allow for substantial improvements.