https://sputnikglobe.com/20231104/watch-protesters-in-us-stall-departure-of-navy-supply-ship-believed-bound-for-israel-1114725085.html
Watch Protesters in US Stall Departure of Navy Supply Ship Believed Bound for Israel
Watch Protesters in US Stall Departure of Navy Supply Ship Believed Bound for Israel
Sputnik International
Hundreds of thousands of Americans from New York and Los Angeles to Chicago and Dallas, have taken to the streets in recent weeks to condemn US support for Israel and to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. On Friday, a group of protesters in the California city of Oakland turned to direct action.
2023-11-04T15:31+0000
2023-11-04T15:31+0000
2023-11-04T15:31+0000
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Protesters in Oakland, California flocked to the Port of Oakland on Friday and blocked the departure of a military supply ship believed bound for the Middle East for several hours.About 200 activists were reported to have descended on the port Friday morning, entering the berth where the Cape Orlando container carrier was moored, with some blocking the entrance to the berth, while others latched themselves onto the vessel’s rope ladders to prevent the ship’s safe departure.The protesters, organized by the Arab Resource Organizing Center, a San Francisco-headquartered civic and social nonprofit, said they had information that the Cape Orlando would head to the Middle East after being loaded up with weapons and military equipment in Tacoma, Washington State.Some protestors unfurled Palestinian flags or wore “Free Palestine” tee-shirts, with others unfurled a large sign reading “NO US Military Aid to Israel.” Others carried smaller signs, with one reading “Liberation for Palestinians: No More US $$$ to Israeli Military.” The crowd chanted “Hey, hey, ho ho, the occupation has to go” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Free.” Protesters reportedly included demonstrators who have lost family members in Gaza amid the recent escalation of violence, as well as Jewish Americans opposed to the conflict and Washington’s support for Israel.The protest continued late into the evening Friday. Footage posted to social media showed police attempting to break through the gate into the port during the day.Organizers said some of the workers aboard the vessel had expressed second doubts about their mission, with at least one reported to have expressed solidarity by walking off the job.The vessel did ultimately apparently get underway, with three protesters still on board later transferred to another vessel and returned to shore pending a Coast Guard investigation. MarineTraffic shows the ship heading north up the West Coast toward Oregon and Washington State, about 380 km northwest of Oakland.Police did not report making any arrests, and a Port of Oakland spokesperson said that the protest did not disrupt any other port operations.Protesters in Oakland expressed hope that when the ship gets to Tacoma –its presumed destination, port workers there will refuse to load military cargoes, and the public will show up to protest.The Cape Orlando is a roll-on/roll-off style supply ship belonging to the US Ready Reserve Fleet, and has been used extensively to transfer troops and equipment to and from Afghanistan and Iraq during the 2000s.Government officials did not confirm or deny to media that the ship was bound for the Middle East, with a union representative saying the ship hasn’t been in active service for 17 years. However, a Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed that the ship belongs to the Department of Defense Maritime Administration, an agency responsible for shipping US military supplies worldwide.Friday’s incident apparently isn’t the first of its kind in Oakland, with a similar, AROC-organized protest held in 2021, culminating in workers from the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refusing to cross a protest line to unload an Israeli vessel’s cargo. The same group organized demonstrations during the August 2014 Palestine-Israel flare-up, delaying Israeli-owned ships from unloading their cargoes, and prompting at least one Israeli vessel to bypass the city entirely to unload in another location.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231104/live-updates-at-least-36-journalists-killed-since-palestine-israel-conflict-erupted-1114706703.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231102/us-has-blood-on-its-hands-over-israels-bombing-of-gaza--peace-campaigner-1114664860.html
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Watch Protesters in US Stall Departure of Navy Supply Ship Believed Bound for Israel
Hundreds of thousands of Americans from New York and Los Angeles to Chicago and Dallas, have taken to the streets in recent weeks to condemn US support for Israel and to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. On Friday, a group of protesters in the California city of Oakland turned to direct action.
Protesters in Oakland, California flocked to the Port of Oakland on Friday and blocked the departure of a military supply ship believed bound for the Middle East for several hours.
About 200 activists were reported to have descended on the port Friday morning, entering the berth where the Cape Orlando container carrier was moored, with some blocking the entrance to the berth, while others latched themselves onto the vessel’s rope ladders to prevent the ship’s safe departure.
The protesters, organized by the Arab Resource Organizing Center, a San Francisco-headquartered civic and social nonprofit, said they had information that the Cape Orlando would head to the Middle East after being loaded up with weapons and military equipment in Tacoma, Washington State.
Some protestors unfurled Palestinian flags or wore “Free Palestine” tee-shirts, with others unfurled a large sign reading “NO US Military Aid to Israel.” Others carried smaller signs, with one reading “Liberation for Palestinians: No More US $$$ to Israeli Military.” The crowd chanted “Hey, hey, ho ho, the occupation has to go” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Free.” Protesters
reportedly included demonstrators who have lost family members in Gaza amid the recent escalation of violence, as well as Jewish Americans opposed to the conflict and Washington’s support for Israel.
The protest
continued late into the evening Friday. Footage posted to social media
showed police attempting to break through the gate into the port during the day.
Organizers
said some of the workers aboard the vessel had expressed second doubts about their mission, with at least one reported to have expressed solidarity by walking off the job.
The vessel did ultimately apparently get underway, with three protesters still on board later transferred to another vessel and returned to shore pending a Coast Guard investigation. MarineTraffic shows the ship heading north up the West Coast toward Oregon and Washington State, about 380 km northwest of Oakland.
Police did not report making any arrests, and a Port of Oakland spokesperson
said that the protest did not disrupt any other port operations.
Protesters in Oakland
expressed hope that when the ship gets to Tacoma –its presumed destination, port workers there will refuse to load military cargoes, and the public will show up to protest.
4 November 2023, 04:54 GMT
The Cape Orlando is a roll-on/roll-off style supply ship belonging to the US Ready Reserve Fleet, and has been used extensively to transfer troops and equipment to and from Afghanistan and Iraq during the 2000s.
Government officials did not confirm or deny to media that the ship was bound for the Middle East, with a union representative
saying the ship hasn’t been in active service for 17 years. However, a Coast Guard spokesperson
confirmed that the ship belongs to the Department of Defense Maritime Administration, an agency responsible for shipping US military supplies worldwide.
Friday’s incident apparently isn’t the first of its kind in Oakland, with a similar, AROC-organized protest held
in 2021, culminating in workers from the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refusing to cross a protest line to unload an Israeli vessel’s cargo. The same group organized demonstrations during the August 2014 Palestine-Israel flare-up, delaying Israeli-owned ships from unloading their cargoes, and prompting at least one Israeli vessel to bypass the city entirely to unload in another location.
2 November 2023, 15:13 GMT
