AAUP President Todd Wolfson released the following statement on August 1, 2025:
Last weekend, the Israel Defense Forces intercepted a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship that was attempting to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza to deliver food, baby formula, diapers, and medicine. The IDF arrested twenty-one people, among them American labor activist and Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls. According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Smalls (the only Black person onboard the boat) was singled out for violent treatment, physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals, choked, and kicked, leaving visible signs of violence. According to the coalition, “When his lawyer met with him, Christian was surrounded by six members of Israel’s special police unit. This level of force was not used against other abducted activists.”
When Rutgers AAUP-AFT and other unions went on strike in the spring of 2023, Chris came out to Newark and supported us and our fight for dignity on the job. Chris stood with us then, and we stand with Chris now. The AAUP condemns the violent and disparate treatment of Chris Smalls.