David R. K. Adler (activist)

David R.K Adler was born in Encino, California to a French Jewish family.^[5][6] His grandfather Jacques Adler was a member of the French resistance against the Nazis.^[7] Adler was at Brown University where he majored in Development Studies. He then studied at the University of Oxford, where he was a 2015 recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship.^[8] He was also a Fulbright scholar in Mexico City at Colegio de México.^[9]

Adler has worked as a researcher and policy advisor on foreign policy. In 2020, he became co-general coordinator of Progressive International, an organization launched with the involvement of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Greek economist and politician Yanis Varoufakis.^[10] With the organization, he organized the January 2026 conference Nuestra América ("Our America") in Bogota, Colombia to convene a collective response from Latin American political forces following the United States intervention in Venezuela and abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.^[11][5][12] He is the co-editor, along with Rosemary Bechler, of the 2020 essay anthology A Vision for Europe 2020.^[13]

In September 2025, Adler participated in the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international, civil society-led maritime initiative launched in mid-2025, which attempted to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.^[3][14] During the voyage, Adler described the mission as a non-violent, civilian effort intended to draw international attention to humanitarian conditions in Gaza. In interviews, he characterized the flotilla as a humanitarian and grassroots initiative.^[3] He also published an essay from the flotilla on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, connecting his Jewish heritage to his participation in the project.^[7][15][16]

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the department viewed the flotilla as a “deliberate and unnecessary provocation” and stated that it “remains focused on realizing President Trump’s plan to end the war, which has been universally welcomed as a historic opportunity for a lasting peace.”^[17]

Israeli naval forces intercepted the flotilla before it reached Gaza. Adler and other participants were detained. Following his release, Adler alleged mistreatment and restrictive detention conditions while in Israeli custody.^[18] According to him, Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir directly confronted him and other activists at the Port of Ashdod.^[19] He was then detained at Ktzi’ot Prison for five days before his deportation to Jordan due to diplomatic pressure from the United States.^{[20][21][17][22]}

The flotilla and subsequent detentions received international media coverage and prompted responses from public officials. This included United States Congressmen Ro Khanna and Jimmy Gomez from Adler's home state of California, who called for clarification regarding the detention of American participants.^[23][24]

In 2026, Adler was the organizer of the Nuestra América Convoy, a humanitarian convoy to Cuba, which departed from Mexico on March 20.^[25][4][26] Critics have raised questions about the political ties of Adler with the Cuban government. He has maintained an ongoing relationship with Cuban state institutions, including a 2022 visit to Havana to present a proposal alongside government officials and participation in a 2023 state-organized international congress on the island. Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, who met with Adler in Havana in January 2025, publicly called for his release following his detention by Israeli forces, a gesture that critics cited as evidence of close ties between Progressive International and the Cuban government.^[27] Adler maintained that the focus of the mission was humanitarian aid.^[4]