David Adler
WHAT HAPPENED
David Adler, a 33-year-old Jewish-American co-general coordinator of the Progressive International from Encino, California, was detained on October 1, 2025, when Israeli naval forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean as it tried to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. Adler said he was 'kidnapped, stripped, zip-tied, blindfolded' and held for five days at Ketziot prison, a detention camp in the Negev desert, where he described psychological torture, nighttime raids with dogs, and the denial of food, water, and legal support. He said that after guards saw his full name on his passport and asked whether he was Jewish, he confirmed that he was, and they then ripped him by the ear and forced him to bend down toward the Israeli flag. He was deported to Jordan on October 7 with other U.S. citizens. U.S. senators led by Elizabeth Warren pressed the State Department over its delayed consular response, which Adler said amounted to officials telling detainees, 'We are not your babysitters.'
TESTIMONY
“They ripped me by the ear and forced me to bend down and stare at the flag of the state of Israel.” — David Adler, Progressive International co-general coordinator
SOURCES
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR
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