How you can help the people of Gaza

N.B. I wrote this post during operation Cast Lead in January 2009 - check the date - but the advice remains the same today in 2012. (If you want to see my current blog posts, click on my name on the blog header.)
I have spent the week upset, enraged, frustrated, despairing - all about my inability to help the people of Gaza. But this morning I realise I CAN do something to help. And so can you. Here are my suggestions:
1/ write to your elected representative and urge them to demand that Israel stop the bombing.
2/ tell other people the truth about the situation to counteract the lies from the Israeli government and the bias of the mainstream media. Here are three truths to get you started:
(i) Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territory.
(ii) Israel is breaking international law by collectively punishing the people of Gaza - not just by bombing them, but by restricting their freedom of movement, and their access to humanitarian aid, power and medical supplies.
(iii) Hamas was democratically elected by the majority of the Palestinian people in an election judged fair and free by impartial international observers.
3/ boycott Israeli goods. Fruit and vegetables from Israel often bear the name Carmel. Beware goods labelled from the West Bank as they are often from illegal Israeli settlements.
4/ give money to charities helping the people in Gaza. Medical Aid for Palestinians and Oxfam and Save the Children Fund are three charities which I know have an agenda of non-violence. There will be others.
5/ demonstrate against the bombing.
6/ forward friends a link to this post. This is it.
7/ don't despair. The campaign to abolish slavery must have seemed like an impossible task when it first began.
p.s. just so you know: I do not endorse violence of any kind - not even the rockets from Hamas.