Hear from the U.S. Journalists Abducted from Gaza Aid Flotillas
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Showcasing Gaza whistleblower in DC event
Defending Rights & Dissent hosted U.S. Army veteran Anthony Aguilar, who worked as a contractor under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Palestine, for a conversation about the war crimes he witnessed on the ground in Gaza and the way Israel has weaponized access to food and medicine against Palestinians.
In front of a packed house at the Busboys & Poets in Washington D.C., Aguilar explained the Israel-directed and U.S.-backed aid scheme that diverted Palestinians from the north to the south of the besieged Gaza Strip, displacing the population in violation of the Geneva Convention. Aguilar further recounted how American and Israeli security contractors “controlled” the starving crowds of unarmed civilians with machine gun fire, killing and injuring hundreds along the way.
Aguilar has been meeting with lawmakers on the Hill, protesting major speeches over U.S. complicity in war crimes, and continuing to speak out about the abuses he witnessed first-hand.
Read our full recap of the event or watch the event recording.
Speaking out for U.S. journalists detained by Israel after flotilla abduction
The U.S. has failed to advocate for American journalists and other citizens who were illegally abducted by Israel from the Global Sumud Flotilla last month, the humanitarian aid convoy comprising 40 ships with life-saving aid bound for Gaza. Defending Rights & Dissent has been leading the charge to demand the State Department speak up for the journalists, who were abused in Israeli detention before being shipped to Jordan where they were eventually released.
Defending Rights & Dissent first wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio upon the arrest of U.S. citizens and others, reminding him,“The State Department has a responsibility to defend the rights of our citizens abroad, especially when they are being subjected to violations of fundamental human rights by a foreign government.”
We then led a coalition of press freedom groups, including PEN America and Freedom of the Press Foundation, to speak out specifically for the journalists still detained, explaining, “Reports from the families of those detained or those released make clear that Americans detained in Israel have received minimal to no consular assistance, in stark contrast to other countries who immediately advocated for their own citizens and saw their earlier release.”
Finally, in collaboration with Freedom of the Press Foundation, Defending Rights & Dissent co-hosted a panel event with three American journalists who’d been abducted and detained by Israel, Drop Site’s Alex Colston, Jewish Currents’ Emily Wilder, and freelance reporter Noa Avishag Schall. Our Policy Director Chip Gibbons moderated the discussion in which the journalists spoke about life aboard the flotilla boats, why they joined and covered the humanitarian effort, and what they endured in Israeli detention.
Watch the full panel event here.
AAUP Pres. Todd Wolfson joins Defending Rights & Dissent’s Board of Directors
We are thrilled to announce that Todd Wolfson is the newest addition to our Board of Directors. Wolfson is president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a national vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and has served for the past six years in the leadership of the Rutgers Academic Workers Union, representing 6,000 faculty, graduate workers, postdocs, and counselors at Rutgers University. In 2023, he helped lead a historic strike of 10,000 workers across three unions at Rutgers. Before becoming an academic union leader, Todd worked as a community and labor organizer in Philadelphia.
Wolfson welcomed the news in a statement:
“I am honored to join the Board of Defending Rights & Dissent at this pivotal moment for First Amendment rights in the United States. It is a privilege to be the labor representative on the board, and I look forward to strengthening the collaboration between AAUP and Defending Rights & Dissent. Together, we will work to safeguard and advance the fundamental freedoms of expression and association—on campus and across our nation.”
DC premiere of new Occupy Wall Street documentary
Defending Rights & Dissent and the Institute for Policy Studies co-hosted the Washington D.C. premiere of Occupy Wall Street An American Dream (dir. Michelle Fawcett, 2025, 51 min.), at IPS’ office in Dupont Circle. The documentary is an electrifying look at how a populist upsurge swept the nation, put oligarchs on their back foot, and revived working-class politics.
Following the screening was a Q&A session featuring the film’s director Michele Fawcett, IPS researcher Omar Ocampo, Occupy DC organizer Margaret Flowers, and our Policy Director Chip Gibbons.
