Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe (born July 21, 1969)[1] is an American-Irish-Palestinian citizen and activist and former United States marine and Gulf War veteran. In 2001, he set fire to his United States passport.[2][3][4] Subsequently, he led the human shield action to Iraq and was a passenger on the MV Mavi Marmara during the Gaza flotilla raid, where he disarmed two of the Israeli commandos who boarded the ship,[5] initiating a confrontation in which ten Turkish activists were killed.[6]
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center O'Keefe gives speeches to white supremacist groups and endorses David Duke.[7]
- ^ "O'Keefe autobiography". Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ "Israel boards Gaza aid ship". Reuters. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
- ^ Gabbatt, Adam; Sherwood, Harriet (June 7, 2010). "Israel kills 4 Palestinians - Gaza". London, UK: Guardian. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ "I'm an ex-marine recruiting human shields". BBC. February 19, 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Haaretz2010was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Philpot, Robert (March 13, 2018). "Free Gaza spox admits activist initiated fatal 2010 violence aboard Mavi Marmara". The Times of Israel. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- ^ Onetime Antiwar, Environmental Protester Veers Into the Seamy World of Anti-Semitism, Southern Poverty Law center, Hate Watch, 27 January 2015