Activists Escalate Blockage of US Military Ship Bound for Israel at Port of Oakland, Arrests Made

"Israel's ability to commit genocide against the people of Gaza is entirely dependent on US military aid. We are here to sound the alarm on this US military ship bound to Israel, to disrupt this war machine, and to do whatever we can to stop the killing of our loved ones in Gaza." said Sharif Zakout with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.

"Today we showed the world: NO business as usual while Israel committs genocide against the Palestinian people. This genocide is being funded by our government and they're sending weapons starting from our city." says Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.

"We say not in our name, and not on our dime. While the ship ultimately left, we delayed it for over 9 hours and we exposed its genocidal mission, and our government's active complicity in arming the massacre of our loved ones in Gaza. We are calling on workers and people of conscious around the world to refuse any dealings- military, financial, political or otherwise- with the apartheid state of Israel."

The vessel is en route to Tacoma, WA, according to publicly available tracking information; confidential sources at the port say that the vessel will be loaded with weapons and military equipment in Tacoma, with a final destination in Israel. Communities in the Pacific Northwest have already called for protests and work stoppages of this same vessel.