HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – After being locked in a cell by the Israeli government for five days, Kauai native Jasmine Ikeda is now free and speaking out about the experience.
Earlier this month, Ikeda was among hundreds of activists on about 40 boats with the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian-led maritime initiative trying to bring aid to Gaza, when they were intercepted by Israeli officers.
“As soon as they boarded, they held us at gunpoint and gave us orders,” Ikeda recalled.
The incident prompted protests around the world.
“The processing of us from the dock to the cell was terrible,” Ikeda said. “They didn’t let me use the bathroom once, and that was probably like a 12- to 18-hour process.”
The processing also included a search in which Ikeda and the other activists were ordered to remove most of their clothing.
Ikeda said she was left with just her bathing suit bottoms for hours before she was given a prison-like uniform.
“Sometimes they’d strip us naked to search us and it was very invasive,” Ikeda said.
After the group was processed, they were locked in concrete cells.
There were 14 detainees in each unit, and Ikeda said they were built for only four people.
Ikeda believes she was treated better than other activists, possibly because she had an American passport, but others were not as fortunate.
“There were a lot of my comrades that were blindfolded or put with cuffs in stress positions for five-plus hours, which is extremely traumatizing,” Ikeda shared.
Moments before she was taken, Ikeda posted a video to Instagram alerting others that the flotilla had been intercepted.
The group also provided live updates on social media and had a tracker so others knew where they were.
“Had we not done that, I would’ve been a lot more afraid,” Ikeda said.
Political analyst John Hart pointed out the flotilla was aware they could have been challenged.
“It’s just like, you know, if you’re going to lay on the ground in front of tanks, the police are going to come and probably arrest you and take you away,” Hart compared.
Hart said it is difficult to justify Israel’s decision to deny aid to those in Gaza, but understood the government’s struggle because of Palestinian militant organization Hamas attacking civilians.
“It’s just so tragic, I mean this is a situation that’s been going on for a long time,” Hart said. “I hope right things get done, but I’m not hopeful on an immediate solution.”
The two-year war in Gaza is now at a standstill after the U.S. negotiated a ceasefire.
All living hostages have been returned along with the remains of several of them who died, but questions linger as President Donald Trump pushes to implement his peace plan for the region.
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