Surfing Gaza

by Patrick Appel

Brian Calvert reports on an unusual surf club:

Gaza is, among other things, a natural place to surf. Waves that build across 3,000 miles of the Mediterranean break on its beaches with surprising frequency and occasional intensity. But of course, Gaza is also the crowded home of 1.5 million refugees and descendants of refugees, isolated under an Israeli blockade and reeling from bombardment. If it weren’t for that grisly reality, outside surfers might find their way there. As it is, the handful of locals who ply Gaza’s beaches do so on a diminishing supply of ragged surfboards.