"I welcome that the Greek authorities have decisively intervened as some activists set sail without permission," he said. Harvard University literature professor Ruth Wisse condemned the flotilla as a "kill-the-Jews flotilla", stating that its purpose was "to discredit the Israeli attempt to protect itself and to give Hamas a free hand amassing weapons to use against Israeli civilians". Christopher Hitchens condemned the flotilla for its cooperation with Hamas, noting Hamas' official and programmatic adoption of the antisemitic forgery "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", its expression of outrage at the death of Osama bin Laden, and its ties with Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and the regimes of Syria and Iran. He also criticized the media for "soft-centred coverage" of the affair, suggesting that pointed questions should have been asked of the flotilla participants and that the title "activists" was an inaccurate and gratuitously positive label for the participants. According to Paul Murphy, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and longtime Freedom Flotilla supporter, "The aim of the Flotilla is to break that siege by delivering vital medical supplies and construction material and to highlight the ongoing blockade and impact on the population." Four Nobel Peace Laureates, Mairead Maguire, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, and Rigoberta Menchú Tum, wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "to urge you to use your good offices in support of the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza...by appointing a representative to inspect and seal the cargo of the boats of the Freedom Flotilla II—thus assuring the Israeli government that the boats are carrying humanitarian supplies such as toys, medical supplies, cement and educational materials." On 7 July 2011, MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, wrote "Today the U.S. and Israel are vigorously seeking to block the flotilla. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton virtually authorized violence, stating that 'Israelis have the right to defend themselves' if flotillas 'try to provoke action by entering into Israeli waters' – that is, the territorial waters of Gaza, as if Gaza belonged to Israel. Greece agreed to prevent the boats from leaving (that is, those boats not already sabotaged) – though, unlike Clinton, Greece referred rightly to 'the maritime area of Gaza.' In January 2009, Greece had distinguished itself by refusing to permit U.S. arms to be shipped to Israel from Greek ports during the vicious U.S.-Israeli assault in Gaza.