Amazon Union Founder Assaulted By IDF During Gaza Aid Trip Now Freed
Chris Smalls, an activist and co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union, was physically assaulted while aboard the Handala, an aid ship trying to reach Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a grassroots international group that organizes nonviolent missions to oppose Israel’s blockade of Gaza, said that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) boarded the vessel, beat and choked Smalls, and seized the ship.
The Handala was carrying humanitarian supplies including food, baby formula, diapers, and medicine for Palestinians in Gaza. The United Nations has warned that the region is facing a “worst-case scenario of famine.” Smalls has since been released and is due back in the US on Friday, 1 August.
The Handala seized by the IDF
Smalls was the only Black person on board, according to The Guardian. A total of 21 people were detained, including parliamentarians, medics, engineers, and two journalists.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday morning, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said: “When his lawyer met with him, Chris was surrounded by six members of Israel’s special police unit. This level of force was not used against other abducted activists. We condemn this violence against Chris and demand accountability for the assault and discriminatory treatment he faced.”
The Handala was seized as more than 30 Israeli public figures called for “crippling sanctions” in relation to Israel’s starvation of Gaza. It has made previous efforts by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to deliver aid to Gaza, including in June, when Greta Thunberg was arrested, which was also intercepted by Israel.
Chris Smalls leading Amazon’s union
Chris Smalls is known for work as a labor organizor. After being fired from Amazon for allegedly violating quarantine rules, Smalls formed the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), a group of current and former Amazon employees looking to unionize, as reported by The Guardian.
The company launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to stop Small’s efforts after he led a walkout at a Staten Island warehouse over working conditions in the pandemic. But its efforts failed to succeed, and Smalls and his co-organizer, Derrick Palmers, won a staff-wide vote to establish the union by 2,654 to 2,131.
Image: Chris Smalls/X
