Seized in international waters and held in Israel’s desert prison, David Adler joins Yanis Varoufakis to recount the flotilla and examine Big Tech’s role in Gaza

In our recent livestream, Yanis Varoufakis and David Adler discussed Israel’s recent actions in Gaza and the overarching influence of Big Tech on global surveillance and warfare.

Adler, a key figure in the Progressive International, shared harrowing experiences from his participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla. This grassroots effort aimed to break the blockade on Gaza and highlight humanitarian crises, but took a dark turn when Israeli forces abducted those on board and subjected them to questioning in horrid conditions.

This set the stage for a candid discussion on the topic that has largely been neglected by mainstream media.

Adler was detained in an Israeli desert prison after being abducted in international waters, and painted a vivid picture of the ordeal faced by those aboard the Flotilla.

“I think it’s very easy to tell the story of the flotilla backwards as opposed to forwards,” Adler began, critiquing narratives that dismiss such efforts as mere publicity stunts by activists. He emphasised the substantial mobilisation seen across Europe, led by DiEM25’s supporters and allies, as integral to raising awareness and fostering solidarity.

Adler’s account was not merely about the personal trials faced by flotilla participants but also a broader criticism of global complicity with the actions of states like Israel.

“It’s important to de-normalise some of this story because if any other state in the world were to have done something so criminal, so illegal, so violent, to a group of humanitarian workers… we would be so shocked that there would be an uprising not just on the streets, but in the halls of global governance,” Adler said.

Big Tech’s dual role: Oppression and liberation

Technology’s dual role in both oppression and liberation was another important theme. “We can’t be pure Luddites about this,” Adler stated, acknowledging the technological advances that allowed the flotilla to broadcast live, gaining international support. However, he also warned of the dark side: “It’s a remarkable thing for me coming out of prison to try to see what kind of coverage were people asking questions about what really happened to us,” he added.

“I stay up at night very anxious about the revolution in drone technology that is being pioneered in the Donbas and Gaza, but is very quickly boomeranging back to places like the Met Police in London whose first responders are now going to be using these drones, armed of course with technologies that are supplied by these Big Tech corporations.

“So, there were definitely instances where we were bombarded with these Israeli technologies. It wasn’t just jamming of signals, it was also hacking of phones, getting into our devices we had on the boats.

“There’s an important nexus there between this malicious software, aided and abetted by large corporations – the Microsofts the Metas, the Open Ais – who have been revealed to be so complicit in the course of this genocide.

“It’s Eric Schmidt, who was the CEO of Google, who is basically using Ukraine as a backyard for playground, for new drone technologies that they’re developing there to create these killer bots that will come for us all sooner or later. And of course, the same corporations are present in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”

Adler closed with a call to action, hopeful yet realistic about the power of collective mobilisation. “I’ve never believed more in the capacity of popular mobilisation to affect real change and make a nightmare for the malicious people that pretend to govern us day to day.”

As Israel breaks another ceasefire, the urgency of these efforts becomes more pronounced. These discussions continue to foster hope and drive action towards justice, sending the message that the future remains unwritten, and the people still have the power to shape it.

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