Last week, David Adler published what he said was his last communication from the edge of a boat sailing to Gaza carrying medical supplies, food and other aids.
The South Californian wrote that the previous night, several ships of the Israeli navy had “threatened” the convoy of around forty boats.
“They attacked our ships, intimidated our crew and disabled our communications,” he said in the October 1 message.
Shortly after, his regular messages to his parents, who live in the Encino district, in the San Fernando valley, as well as his sister and her older brother have stopped.
The 33 -year -old co -founder of the International Progressive Left Political Organization was one of the more than 450 pacifist activists, medical workers and other convoy volunteers known as the Sumud flotilla for Gaza who were arrested at the end of last week after the Israeli Naval Forces intercepted boats in international waters.
His family said that she had not been able to join him since October 1, but learned one day later that he had been taken to Ashdod, an important freight port in Israel, then transferred to Ketziot prison, in the Neguev Neguev desert.
“I couldn’t talk to him, I don’t know what state he is in, and it really scares me,” said Ruth Kremen, the mother of Adler.
A group of Californian democrats urged the State Department on Monday in a letter to facilitate the release of several Californians and other American citizens.
“The United States has the obligation to protect its citizens abroad and must act immediately,” they said in the letter signed by 24 Congress representatives and other officials and sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We call you to work to (their) immediate and safe release, in particular by organizing the logistics of an aircraft to ensure their speedy recovery.”
In recent days, hundreds of arrested flotilla activists, including the eminent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, have been expelled from Israel and transported by plane to Athens. But only a few American participants were released, and 21 of them were still detained by Israel on Monday, according to the letter.
In addition to Adler, arrested included three other Californians: Internet fame Tommy Marcus, based in the Los Angeles region; Geraldine Ramirez, by Cathedral City in the Coachella valley; And Logan Hollarsmith, from San Francisco.
Californian representative Ro Khanna (Fremont Democrat), who was among the signatories of the letter, said to the Times that he had heard that the Americans would be released in the coming days. But without clear arrangements from the American State Department, they could be transported by land to neighboring Jordan, even though other countries have organized thefts to bring their citizens home, he said.
“What I heard from families is frustration,” said Khanna. “This is a priority for the Californian delegation: ensuring that our voters are safe. And we put pressure on Israel to do so.”
The US State Department did not respond to a request for comments from the Times, but declared in declarations to other media that it took its “commitment to help American citizens and that it monitored the situation”.
“The flotilla is a deliberate and unnecessary provocation. We are currently focusing on the realization of President Trump’s plan to end the war, which has been universally welcomed as a historic opportunity for lasting peace,” said the State Department.
The main ships of the Sumud flotilla for Gaza has set sail from Barcelona, Spain, more than a month ago with volunteers from dozens of countries to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza Palestinians.
The Israeli headquarters of this strip of land, which has lasted for two years, has killed more than 60,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel’s bombing campaign and its blockade that has lasted for months have sparked famine in Gaza, said the authorities, and have aroused accusations from a UN commission of inquiry and international legal organizations that the United States ally commits a genocide. Israel rejected this assertion, calling it “distorted and false”, and affirms that the attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which sparked the War of Israel in Gaza, was in itself a genocidal act. About 1,200 people were killed in this attack and 251 were taken hostage.
Although Adler’s family supported his cause, his mother and sister said they had tried to dissuade him from joining the flotilla, fearing for his security-knowing that during an Israeli raid against a flotilla in 2010, 10 activists had been killed, including a Turkish American, and dozens of others had been injured.
“We both trusted him to do what he thought was fair and we are very proud of him for what he did, but the level of anxiety was very high, absolutely,” said Adler’s father, Paul.
Adler, who is Jewish, wrote in an article for The Nation that his grandfather joined the Paris resistance against the Nazis and that he is inspired by his inheritance to justify his support for the flotilla.
“I joined this flotilla like any other delegate – to defend humanity, before it is too late. But at Yom Kippour, I remember that I am also here because my Jewish heritage requires it,” wrote Adler.
Laura, Adler’s sister, who lives in Connecticut, said that there were 24 hours during which the family did not know her fate.
“It seems silly to say that you are relieved to learn that your brother is in prison, but I was relieved to learn at least that he was physically safe,” she said. “I simply do not understand why our country, which is the greatest supporter of Israel, cannot be more assertive in the protection of its citizens abroad. »»
Family members said that because Adler had acquired French and Australian nationality through his father, they had received information on his state from reports compiled by representatives of these countries. On the other hand, details on the part of the US government are lacking, the family said.
Another South Californian is one of a second convoy of about 10 boats that set sail last week.
Independent journalist and human rights researcher based in Los Angeles, Emily Wilder, is on board to document the stream of the flotilla for the Jewish Current media. She said that “as a passenger of a ship on the same trajectory towards Gaza … Towards a possible capture by Israeli forces”, she was “really concerned about the people who were taken and are currently detained by Israel”.
“But of course, a mission like this is intrinsically risky,” said Wilder.
