OAKLAND – Hundreds of protesters marched past the Port of Oakland on Friday morning with the desire to prevent the delivery of cargo from an Israeli ship.

The Arab Resource & Organizing Center was waiting for more than 500 people at Pier 30 near Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in the 2700 block of Middle Harbor Road.

“Our goal today is to show the city of Oakland that we don’t want it to do business with it and to allow Israeli apartheid money to enter our city,” said by telephone the spokesperson of the group Wassim Hage. “This is part of an international picket movement in port cities around the world that will continue over the next two weeks. “

The demonstrators chanted: “Back off! Save! We want freedom, freedom! All these Zionist attacks, we don’t need them, we need them.

“Save! Save! We want freedom, freedom! All these Zionist attacks, we don’t need them, we need them! #BlockTheBoat #BDS #EndIsraeliApartheid #Oakland pic.twitter.com/ctnsU4IjKQ

– AROC #BlocktheBoat (@AROCBayArea) June 4, 2021

“We question whether doing business with ZIM is worth it for the Port of Oakland, the port’s employers and other shipping companies,” AROC Executive Director Lara Kiswani said in a statement. “We honor the workers here in Oakland and Palestine and send a clear message that the profits from Israeli apartheid and the continued violence against the Palestinian people will not be welcome in the Bay Area. “

ZIM is an Israeli public international shipping company headquartered in Haifa, Israel, and North American headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.

Port spokesman Robert Bernardo released a statement saying port officials support freedom of speech as well as the right for people to assemble peacefully.

“At the same time,” Bernardo said in the statement, “federal policy dictates that international trade cannot be stopped. This means that groups can protest, but they cannot disrupt trade. The port has engaged with our public safety partners to maintain safety and security while ensuring the timely flow of trade to the Oakland Seaport. “

According to Hage, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse’s Union Local 10 were in the middle of the picket lines at the port as “a huge demonstration of solidarity between organized workers and the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.”

It’s officially 8am in Oakland, but no tank top has crossed our picket line! The ZIM ship taking advantage of apartheid remains fully loaded, the cranes remain inactive. Every minute we prevent cargo from unloading, ZIM is losing money! #BlockTheBoat #BDS #EndIsraeliApartheid pic.twitter.com/8oVBifGrgP

– AROC #BlocktheBoat (@AROCBayArea) June 4, 2021

None of those workers crossed the picket lines, according to an AROC Tweet.

Calls to union headquarters went unanswered on Friday morning.

According to Bernardo, the port contributes to 84,000 jobs in the region, most of them in the city and that preventing trade will only jeopardize local jobs.

“Many of the port’s truck drivers are only paid if they pick up and drop off containers,” Bernardo said. “If they can’t go in and out, they won’t be paid. This will impact their livelihoods and families. “

Protesters arrived around 6 a.m. to prevent the ship operated by an Israeli shipping company from unloading its cargo. The Israeli-owned, ZIM-operated Volans ship docked on Friday morning.

Please check for updates.