To the Editor:

It is an abomination for American participants in the international flotilla heading toward Gaza later this month to liken themselves to the Freedom Riders who challenged segregation in the American South ("Americans Are Joining Flotilla to Protest Israeli Blockade," June 2).

The suggestion that the Gaza flotilla has anything in common with the 1950s protests is outrageous and a deep insult to those who put their lives on the line to achieve justice and fair treatment for all Americans.  The Freedom Riders were pacifists who were on the right side of history; the flotilla organizers, by sending material to Gaza in violation of the Israeli blockade, have aligned themselves with Hamas, a Palestinian organization that violently represses its own people and has repeatedly resorted to terrorism to achieve its goals.

It is a sad day when the crystal clear moral courage of those who stood for civil rights in America is compared to those who side with the terrorist group and break international law.