Protesters in Oakland Blocked Ship Carrying Weapons for Israel

By La Izquierda Diario Argentina and Left Voice

Millions of people all over the world continue to protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip. On Friday, protesters at the port of Oakland, California, one of the most important ports in the U.S., prevented a ship carrying military weapons for Israel from leaving for hours. 

A large military ship carrying arms and other military supplies was ready to set sail from Oakland to Israel so that Israel could continue its murderous bombardment on the Gaza Strip that has already killed more than 9,500 Palestinians, including 3,900 children, and wounded over 24,000. Protesters, however, had other plans. Demanding “No US military aid to Israel” and an immediate ceasefire, they blocked the entrance to the berth where the ship was docked for hours . Protesters also broke through barbed wire fences and climbed onto the ship with a makeshift ladder. It was a peaceful yet powerful protest, holding up aid going to Israel’s ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians. 

Videos shared on social media show the protest, which started around 6:30am when the first blockade took place at the entrance to where the military ship was docked. As reported by the port authorities themselves, the protesters did not interfere with any other port operations.

Despite the presence of police and the Coast Guard, the demonstrators were able to delay the departure of the ship for several hours until it finally set sail around 3:00 in the afternoon. In addition, several media outlets broadcast the protest, helping their denunciation against the Biden administration, which collaborates with Benjamin Netanyahu and the zionist state’s murderous offensive on Gaza, reach a larger audience.

Tens of thousands have protested across the U.S. — a strategic ally of Israel — for the past month in solidarity with the Palestinian people. One of the most powerful was held in New York City on October 28, when thousands of activists with Jewish organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow occupied Grand Central Station. This historical act of civil disobedience by anti-zionist Jews and allies, the largest in the city in two decades, was repressed by the NYPD with many of arrests. 

Other similar actions around the world include transport unions in Belgium who refused to send weapons to Israelfollowing a call from Palestinian trade unions to halt weapons production and shipment to Israel. Workers around the world in critical sectors such as transportation and weapons manufacturing — especially in the U.S. and other imperialist countries that send aid to Israel — need to stand up against the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza, following the examples in Oakland and Belgium.

Originally published in Spanish on November 4 in La Izquierda Diario.

Translation by Molly Rosenzweig via Peoples Dispatch.