Jewish American Activist Details Alleged Abandonment by U.S. consular Services Following Detention by Israeli Forces
A Jewish American humanitarian worker alleges he and fellow activists aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla experienced a harrowing five-day detention by Israeli forces followed by what he describes as abandonment by U.S. consular services. David Adler, co-general coordinator of Progressive International, detailed his experience in a recent interview with Democracy Now! and in an article published by Jacobin.
Adler claims the U.S. delegation was treated “by far-one of the worst” by consular services, with officials arriving at the detention camp “maybe four days after our disappearance and detention in the middle of the Negev Desert.” He alleges they were told,”You no what,guys? You’re on your own. There’s nothing we can do for you. You’re in Israel‘s hands now.”
Upon eventual release and deportation to Jordan, Adler asserts the treatment contrasted sharply with that received by other delegations. While others were “greeted,welcomed,treated,hugged,put into hotels,given flights home,” Adler says the U.S. consul informed them, “We are not your babysitters. We will not provide food, water, clothes, hotels, transportation. The most we can do for you is have the Jordanians drive you to the airport.” he further states they were dropped off “without any cellphones or money.”
Adler characterized this as evidence that the U.S. government “do[es] not serve us. They serve the state of Israel.” He also criticized what he termed a “Pete Hegseth school of international law, that due process is no process,” noting that he and his fellow activists “never saw a judge, a jury, never saw our lawyers or a prosecutor, were never charged with anything.”
Adler connected his experience to the plight of Palestinians, stating that this is “just a fraction of what we know Palestinians…are suffering on a daily basis,” citing the detention of 11,000 Palestinians from Gaza alone, in addition to those held in the West Bank. He emphasized that he was part of a humanitarian mission “simply trying to deliver basic critical aid to the starving people of Palestine.”
