from AROC
Block the Boat! Stop Israel at the Port of Oakland!
Zionism isn’t welcome on our Coast!
West Coast Blockade of the Israeli Zim Ship
Port of Oakland
Saturday, August 16th
5am
Meet at West Oakland Bart and march to Berth 57
Those planning to participate: subscribe to text-alerts and receive live updates about the 8/16 Block the Boat, text “join” to (510) 346-5951.
Port of Tacoma on August 20th
Port of Seattle on August 22
(Tacoma and Seattle details listed below)
STOP THE SIEGE ON GAZA!
END THE COLONIAL OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE!
RIGHT OF RETURN FOR ALL PALESTINIAN REFUGEES!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!
BOYCOTT, DIVEST, SANCTION!
What’s happening?The world has watched in horror as Israel has continued to bombard and devastate Gaza. Millions around the globe have come out in support of the Palestinian people and against the Zionist regime, holding massive marches, demonstrations, and actions. Here in the Bay, San Francisco witnessed some of the biggest mobilizations in recent years, with a series of marches, each bringing out thousands of people. It’s time to step it up.Call to ActionPalestine is calling us to action! Palestinians laborers, Palestinian General Federation Trade Union (PGFTU), have called on workers around the world to refuse to handle Israel goods. Palestinians throughout Gaza, the West Bank and 1948 Palestine have demonstrated their unity in the struggle against Apartheid Israel and have taken to the streets in the tens of thousands, bravely facing Israeli military armed with US made weapons to call on the international community to stand with them as they resist Zionism throughout all of historic Palestine. We will be answering this call by organizing community pickets at the Port of Oakland, asking the longshoreman to honor this request and to stand with the people of Palestine as they have done in the past.Historical BackgroundDuring apartheid in South Africa, ILWU workers made history when they refused to unload South African cargo in San Francisco in 1984. This action was a major catalyst for international anti-apartheid solidarity and struggle worldwide. In 2010, after a Turkish flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, was attacked by Israel for attempting to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, we built on ILWU’s history and successfully blocked the Israeli Zim ship from being unloaded at the Port of Oakland – the first time in US history an Israeli ship was blocked. We will be continuing this legacy by organizing to block the Israeli ship once again. And just as apartheid fell in South Africa, so too it will fall in Israel!Sustained BDS in the BayIf there is one thing that the latest Israeli attacks show, it’s the power of Palestinian resilience. The resistance in Gaza is still alive and thriving, despite Israel’s ongoing attempts to destroy it. But we should always remember that the Palestinian resistance did not begin with Israel’s latest bombardment, nor did it begin during the last bombardment. It has been going on since 1948, since Israel came into existence. And it will not cease until Israeli apartheid falls.We refuse to allow Israel to conduct its business as usual, here in the Bay and everywhere!Every Saturday, the Israeli owned Zim shipping line docks and unloads its cargo at the Port of Oakland. Let this action be the beginning of a sustained campaign to stop the Israeli ship from ever unloading in our town.From Seattle to Oakland to Los Angeles – turn the Israeli ship around!
We encourage all of our allies on the West Coast to join us in ensuring that Zim ships are not welcome anywhere.
Long Beach:
https://www.facebook.com/events/435461866594072/
Tacoma and Seattle:
https://www.facebook.com/events/678819478876975/
New York:
https://www.facebook.com/events/429725363832321/
from Block the Boat NW
END THE SIEGE ON GAZA!
BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS!
END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI SETTLER-COLONIALIST GENOCIDE AND OCCUPATION!
Facebook event page for the Puget Sound blockades - please invite your friends
When the “Zim Chicago” enters the Port of Tacoma on August 20th and the Port of Seattle on August 22, we will conduct blockades to prevent the unloading of its cargo, starting early and lasting all day. Estimated dates of arrival are subject to change, and we will continue to give accurate updates on this website. We will also give exact meeting places for the actions in the coming days. Keep checking!
These actions are economic sanctions against Zim Shipping, Israel’s largest shipping company, in response to the current siege of Gaza and the ongoing occupation of Palestine. Any international commerce that profits Israeli companies is oppressing Palestinians. Israel could not continue its occupation and genocide without economic and military support of the United States government. To help end this oppression we must block that support in every way we can.
The toll of “Operation Protective Edge” is almost 1,900 Gazans killed (nearly all civilians), 31% of them children, and almost 10,000 injured. We must act in solidarity with those in Palestine who live under occupation and are facing down genocide. Let’s refuse to let Israeli ships use our ports! Blockade til they go away! Oakland, CA will block a Zim ship on August 16th. In Seattle we shut down the Port for a day in December of 2011 — we can do it again and again. Blockades can and must happen everywhere there is a port, as a contribution to the goal of the complete collapse of the economic base of Israeli occupation.
We can’t do this without your presence! Everyone is welcome, young and old. Bring banners, flags, flyers, sound systems, musical instruments, and your friends. If you can’t blockade, you can participate in the supporting rallies — the more people there, the safer we’ll all be.
Comments, questions, or suggestions? Want to work together? Contact [email protected]. This website will continue to be updated.
