Locals Lose Contact With Friend Aboard Gaza-Bound Flotilla Seized by Israeli Navy

Callie Fuchigami met Jas Ikeda in a Japanese language class in California 14 years ago, and since then, the two have remained close. Their friendship took on a familiar pattern, Fuchigami says, with Ikeda calling her "out of the blue" with invitations. Once, when Ikeda asked Fuchigami if she wanted to camp that same night in the Olympic National Forest, Fuchigami dropped everything and drove from her home in Des Moines, Washington, to the Olympic Peninsula to join Ikeda.

Throughout their friendship, the two continued to support each other. During the past 10 years, Ikeda supported not only her friend, but also a personal cause: the Palestinian liberation movement. Fuchigami hadn't followed the liberation movement closely. "I've relied on Jas to share [about this] with me. I've looked to her for updates," said Fuchigami. "It's been an awakening experience."

Recently, Ikeda, a blacksmith apprentice on Orcas Island, made a decision that has impacted not only the two friends, but also many others: to become one of hundreds of activists from around the world to take part in a flotilla of boats with a goal of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. Activists can create a long-distance support team, and when Ikeda invited Fuchigami to support her, she gave her usual response to Ikeda. She said yes.

Fuchigami said Ikeda told her not to worry. "She said, 'I trust my gut. The best thing you can do is imagine me handing a box of food to someone in Gaza.'" 

But after recent events, Fuchigami is worried. On Oct. 1, as the flotilla was en route to Gaza, the Israeli Navy detained hundreds of activists on the flotilla, including Ikeda. "It's very stressful", Fuchigami said. Fuchigami went on to describe the tone of the last messages from Ikeda. "She's so calm and resolute that this is the right thing to do. She says, 'We've prepared for this. Focus on Gaza. Focus on Palestine.'"

Ikeda is one of 500 activists, representing 40 countries, who have been participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of a group of 44 vessels. Its stated mission is a nonviolent, humanitarian voyage across the Mediterranean Sea. It's been nearly two years since the Hamas attack in October 2023, in which the group entered Israel, killed 1,200, and took 251 people as hostages. 

Israel's response has been a full-scale ground invasion, a massive aerial bombardment, and a siege, cutting off access to food, water, electricity, and fuel. An estimated 66,000 Palestinians are reported dead, with an estimated thousands more under the rubble. Approximately 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced. The international flotilla hopes to challenge Israel's siege of Gaza by carrying food and medicine to Palestinians and demanding a halt to what the UN commission of inquiry, Amnesty International, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have all deemed a genocide. Israel denies this claim. 

Ikeda was aboard a vessel named Sirius and posted updates on Instagram about Israeli vessels circling Sirius on Sept. 30. Another post by Ikeda on Oct. 1 at about 10:30 a.m. PDT claimed interception was imminent, and by midday PDT, all direct communication with Ikeda was lost. 

Israel's military had water-cannoned and attacked some vessels in the flotilla with incendiary weapons since early September. Sirius was not affected by these attacks. 

According to Fuchigami, phones are to be discarded by crew members when Israeli soldiers board a flotilla boat. When a boat is intercepted, SOS messages from the passengers of the ship are posted on the Global Sumud Flotilla website. Ikeda's SOS message is included. As of Oct. 2, all vessels have been intercepted. 

Ikeda has a support team of about 15 members, including Jenna Reed. According to Reed, who lives on Orcas Island, the team monitored Ikeda's Instagram posts, watching the ship tracker and the livestream. In addition, a highly organized international ground crew kept in constant communication with the flotilla members on their journey, and sent each flotilla member's support team a thread of updates as they received any information. "The visibility on social media has been critical to the safety of the crews and to the support networks," said Reed.

Fuchigami says Ikeda's participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla began in a flurry of seafaring activity. Not long before leaving the Pacific Northwest to join the flotilla, Ikeda, who is a skilled seafarer, had sailed from the San Juan Islands to Maui, studying the art of celestial navigation. 

Fuchigami called Ikeda about the trip to Maui when Ikeda mentioned that they were going to be interviewed the next day for possible participation in the international flotilla. Five days later, Ikeda was in Barcelona, Spain, where the flotilla departed for Gaza on Aug. 31. According to reports, tens of thousands of people worldwide applied to join the flotilla. 

"Civilians like Jas and many others are risking [their] lives and going [toward Gaza] because of the failure of governments and leaders," said Fuchigami. 

As of Oct. 2, Fuchigami hadn't heard from Ikeda, so she has no idea what her friend is experiencing. Ikeda's support team has been notified that the flotilla participants have been sent to Ketziot Detention Center, about 19 miles from the Egyptian border. But Fuchigami holds steadfast to her idea about what kind of person Ikeda is. "Jas is a joyful, calm person who cares about the humanness in people. She's unflappable and resolute. She's a positive person and always fighting for liberation in all forms," said Fuchigami.