Last week, David Adler posted what he said would be his final communication from aboard a boat sailing toward Gaza carrying medical supplies, food and other aid.
The Southern Californian wrote that the previous night several Israeli naval ships had “menaced” the convoy of some 40 boats.
“They attacked our vessels, intimidated our crew, and disabled our communications,” he said in the Oct. 1 post.
Soon after, his regular messages to his parents, who live in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Encino, and to his older sister and brother stopped.
The 33-year-old co-founder of left-wing political organization Progressive International was among more than 450 peace activists, medical workers and other volunteers on the convoy known as the Gaza Sumud Flotilla who were detained late last week after Israeli naval forces intercepted the boats in international waters.
His family said they had not been able to reach him since Oct. 1, but learned about a day later that he had been taken to Ashdod, a major cargo port in Israel, and then transferred to Ketziot prison in the Negev Desert.
“I haven’t been able to talk to him, I don’t know what kind of shape he’s in, and that makes me really scared,” said Ruth Kremen, Adler’s mother.
A group of California Democrats urged the State Department in a letter Monday to facilitate the release of several Californians and other detained U.S. citizens.
“The U.S. has an obligation to protect its citizens abroad and must act immediately,” they said in the letter, which was signed by 24 congressional representatives and other officials and sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We call on you to work for [their] immediate and safe release, including arranging the logistics of a plane to ensure their speedy recovery.”
In recent days, hundreds of flotilla activists who were detained, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were deported from Israel and flown to Athens. But only a few American participants have been released, with 21 remaining in Israeli custody as of Monday evening, according to the letter.
Besides Adler, those detained included three other Californians: internet celebrity Tommy Marcus, who is based in the Los Angeles area; Geraldine Ramirez, from Cathedral City in the Coachella Valley; and Logan Hollarsmith, of San Francisco.
California Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), who was among the letter’s signatories, told The Times that he had heard that Americans would be released in the next day or so. But without clear arrangements from the U.S. State Department, they might be transported by land to neighboring Jordan, even as other countries have arranged for flights to bring their citizens home, he said.
“What I have heard from families is frustration,” Khanna said. “This is a priority for the California delegation — to make sure our constituents are returned safely. And we are putting pressure on Israel to do that.”
The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment from The Times but said in statements to other news outlets that it takes its “commitment to assist U.S. citizens seriously and [is] monitoring the situation.”
“The flotilla is a deliberate and unnecessary provocation. We are currently focused on realizing President Trump’s plan to end the war, which has been universally welcomed as a historic opportunity for a lasting peace,” the State Department has said.
The core vessels in the Gaza Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona, Spain, more than a month ago with volunteers from dozens of countries to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel’s two-year-long siege on the strip of land has killed more than 60,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel’s bombing campaign and its months-long blockade have triggered famine in Gaza , authorities say, and garnered accusations from a U.N. commission of inquiry and international legal bodies that the U.S. ally is carrying out genocide. Israel has rejected the claim as “distorted and false,” and contends the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked Israel’s war in Gaza was itself a genocidal act. About 1,200 people were killed in that attack and 251 were taken hostage.
Although Adler’s family was supportive of his cause, his mother and sister said they had tried to dissuade him from joining the flotilla, fearing for his safety — knowing that in an Israeli raid of a flotilla in 2010, 10 activists were killed, including a Turkish American, and dozens of others were injured.
“Both of us trusted him to do what he thought was right, and are very proud of him for what he did, but the anxiety level has been very high, absolutely,” Adler’s father, Paul, said.
Adler, who is Jewish, wrote in a piece for the Nation that his grandfather joined the Parisian resistance against the Nazis, and that he draws from his heritage in his rationale for joining the flotilla.
“I joined this flotilla just like any other delegate — to defend humanity, before it is too late. But on Yom Kippur, I am reminded that I am also here because my Jewish heritage demands it,” Adler wrote.
Adler’s sister Laura, who lives in Connecticut, said there were 24 hours when the family didn’t know his fate.
“It sounds silly to say you’re relieved to find out that your brother is in a prison, but I was relieved to learn at least that he was physically safe,” she said. “I just don’t understand why our country, which is Israel’s biggest supporter, can’t be more assertive in protecting its citizens abroad.”
Family members said that, because Adler acquired nationality in France and Australia through his father, they received some information about his condition from reports compiled by representatives in those countries. By contrast, details from the U.S. government have been lacking, the family said.
Another Southern Californian is among those on a second convoy of about 10 boats that set sail last week.
L.A.-based independent journalist and human rights researcher Emily Wilder is on board to document the flotilla effort for news outlet Jewish Currents. She said that “as a passenger on a ship in the same trajectory toward Gaza… toward a possible capture by Israeli forces,” she was “really concerned about the people that have been taken and are currently in Israeli custody.”
“But of course, a mission like this is inherently risky,” Wilder said.
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