Community Builder and Activist Logan Hollarsmith Detained While Delivering Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

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Logan Hollarsmith was the lead builder on the Longhouse for the People project. Photo by Ginsy Stone  [/caption]

News by Nhatt Nichols

“Logan is a gem of a person; anyone that meets Logan is, like, I love this person,” said Quilcene resident Ginsy Stone about Logan Hollarsmith, a timber framing expert who volunteered with Stone on the Longhouse for the People project.

Hollarsmith’s capacity for care and action extends beyond his abilities as a builder. He was one of the 437 activists who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a coalition of more than 40 vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, whose population is being starved by Israel.

Hollarsmith was aboard the Ohwayla, a vessel carrying U.S. veterans and civilians that was trying to deliver aid. The flotilla planned to breach the Israeli government's 16-year blockade of Gaza.

The Israeli military intercepted the Ohwayla on Wednesday, Oct. 1, and its passengers were taken into custody, according to a post on X by Israel’s foreign ministry.

Mutual friends had earlier connected Hollarsmith with Longhouse for the People, according to Chemakum tribal member Naiome Krenke, who founded the project.

“He was the lead builder of the longhouse and is a kind, good person who did a wonderful job on the build,” Krenke said.

Volunteering to be part of a large aid effort is an integral part of who Hollarsmith is, according to Stone.

“He’s very passionate and devoted to doing social justice work. He's been involved with No More Deaths down in Arizona for many years,” Stone said, “He thinks about his community, wherever he goes. He's just a compassionate person.”

In July, over a hundred humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International, signed a letter asking Israel to end its siege on Gaza.

“People getting food and aid is baseline; people in Jefferson County also have limited access to getting food and aid. We are all in this, and we all need to support each other, because we all have the right to clean water, food, aid for our health and shelter.”  

— Ginsy Stone

According to the letter, “Massacres at food distribution sites in Gaza are occurring almost daily. As of July 13, the UN confirmed 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, 201 on aid routes and the rest at distribution points. Thousands more have been injured.”

Participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla were bringing food and other supplies–and proving to the world that ordinary citizens aren’t powerless to stand up to genocide. Though the flotilla may have been prevented from bringing lifesaving supplies to Gaza, the message they sent to the world is clear.

Activist Greta Thunberg also participated in the flotilla and was detained with Hollarsmith by Israel. Thunberg was released on Monday, Oct 6, and deported to Greece.

“Under international law, states have a legal obligation to prevent and to stop a genocide from happening,” Thunberg said, according to The Guardian. “That means ending complicity, applying real pressure and ending arms transfers. We are not seeing that, we are not even seeing the bare minimum from our governments.”

According to Krenke, Hollarsmith has also been released and will be returned to the United States.

Stone pointed out that though the situation in Gaza is extreme, people in our corner of the world are also struggling to have their basic needs met, a problem that Hollarsmith recognized.

“People getting food and aid is baseline; people in Jefferson County also have limited access to getting food and aid,” Stone said. “We are all in this, and we all need to support each other, because we all have the right to clean water, food, aid for our health and shelter.”

Hollarsmith brought deep devotion and caring with him to the Longhouse project, just as he did with his work in Arizona and with the flotilla, according to Stone. She said that he would volunteer to deliver food from the food bank to people working on the Longhouse who didn’t have the time or ability to go themselves.

“He makes time for other people and cares for other people,” Stone said. “It's intensely special, and he's just incredibly gracious.”