A Tucson man is one of some 450 activists who were detained by Israel at sea last week aboard a humanitarian aid flotilla set for Gaza.
In a pre-recorded video released on social media alongside several others late Wednesday night, Logan Hollarsmith said he had been taken into custody.
“If you are watching this video, I’ve been abducted by Israeli forces on the high seas,” Hollarsmith said. “Our humanitarian mission is nonviolent and abides by international law.”
Hollarsmith’s mother, Sidney Hollar, says her son is an expert sailor who was captaining a boat carrying mostly U.S. veterans — one of at least 44 vessels part of a flotilla that set sail from Barcelona in August attempting to deliver baby formula, medical supplies and other aid to Gaza.
“I think he would want the focus to be on the starving people of Gaza, and the genocide, and the complicity of our government. These were ordinary people on these boats,” she said of her son. "There were probably about 50 members of parliament from the EU, Nelson Madela’s grandson, but mainly, they were ordinary citizens, and to show what we ordinary citizens can do, when our government fails to act."
Hollar says she’d been in contact with her son throughout his journey, but he stopped responding late Tuesday night, when a live feed of the vessels began showing some getting boarded by the Israeli military. She’s emotional talking about the moment she was told Hollarsmith had sent out a satellite-powered SOS call.
“Some of the boats we knew had been intercepted and there was a listing on the tracker, but his was ‘suspected interception,’” she said. “And then I get a call at 12:45.”
Through his legal team, Hollar learned her son and other activists had opted out of voluntary deportation from Israel in order to contest their arrest.
As the AP reports, activists were held at Israel’s Ktziot prison, a facility in the Negev desert where Palestinian prisoners have also been held. On Monday, the Israeli government announced Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among 171 people from several countries who had been deported to Greece and Slovakia.
Hollar says she’s been informed by the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem that her son and other Americans detained from the flotilla could be released within the next day, but she’s not sure yet where to.
“I’m really proud of him, I’m really proud of all of them, I think they are amazingly strong, to do this, knowing what could possibly happen, but just for the greater good, and the world is watching,” Hollar said.
In 2019, Hollarsmith was one of a handful of volunteers with the border aid group No More Deaths who was facing federal charges after leaving aid like water in southern Arizona’s Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
Those charges were dropped. But Aryanna Tischler, social media coordinator with No More Deaths, says issues faced by aid workers in both places are connected.
“The scale of the genocide in Gaza is so different than what we are witnessing on the U.S.-Mexico border, but it is a similar system, and war-profiting industry,” she said. “We’re seeing a crisis where it’s created by the state, and humanitarian aid workers and civilians are coming in to try to support and then being demonized.”
Hollar says she’s reached out to Arizona’s Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, along with Congressman Juan Ciscomani and several other members of Congress from her district in California, asking them to advocate for his release.
A spokesperson with Gallego’s office said he was in contact with the family and has urged the U.S. Department of State to ensure Hollarsmith's safe release.
A Department of State spokesperson called the flotilla a "deliberate and unnecessary provocation," and said the agency is in close contact with Israeli authorities about the arrests and most U.S. citizens are expected to be released in the next few days.
The agency did not respond to questions about the number of Americans detained or their charges.
-
At a Tucson town hall on Friday, Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego called for congressional Republicans to extend subsidies that help pay for insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. -
A researcher at University of Arizona is launching a five-year study to know if gut cells called neuropods store information on maternal diets that can later influence what we eat. -
The U-visa is approved in limited quantities to immigrant victims of certain crimes who agree to work with law enforcement. If approved, it provides a path to a green card and a work permit. -
The Tucson Baseball Team was scheduled to host its fifth home series game at Tucson’s Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium starting Nov. 18. But the team says it’ll be playing those games in Mexicali, Mexico, instead amid ongoing issues getting U.S. visas. -
Democrat Adelita Grijalva was sworn in as the newest member of Congress on Wednesday, more than seven weeks after she won a special election in Arizona to fill the House seat last held by her late father.
