Protesters blocked a ship supplying military supplies to Israel at the port of Cape Oakland, California, for several hours. However, they were unable to hold the ship in the end. However, the protesters believe that this incident will have a far-reaching effect.
Israel has been carrying out barbaric airstrikes and massacres of Palestinians in the Palestinian Gaza Strip for almost a month. The United States is supporting this massacre with arms and ammunition.
An organization called the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) organized a protest at the port in California on Friday (November 3) morning to demand an immediate end to the massacre and the end of US military aid to Israel. At least 1000 members of the organization participated in this protest.
As part of the protest, the protesters blocked the entrance to Berth 20 harbor at Cape Auckland port. A US military supply ship bound for Israel was anchored in this port.
Protesters said they received word that the ship would leave Cape Oakland on Friday morning for the capital, Washington DC. After loading weapons and military supplies from there, it will depart for Israel.
But before the ship left, protesters took a stand at Cape Auckland port. Meanwhile, around 200 police were deployed at Cape Auckland port to disperse the protesters. But ignoring the police barricade, many of the protesters boarded the ship and blocked it.
A spokesman for the Port of Cape Auckland said the protest began at 6.45am. However, the protesters did not block any other ship except one. A video of the ship's detention has been published in various international media including Al Jazeera.
It shows some protesters hanging from a rope ladder on the ship. Meanwhile, ship workers are trying to close the doors of the military ship. A US Coast Guard officer tries to convince protesters to get off the ship. But protesters are rejecting his request.
Meena Abu Shamala is one of the leaders in the protest against the ship's detention. He lost several relatives in the Israeli air strikes in Gaza. He said, "This is a US military ship. It will now go to Tacoma, Washington. After that, he will go to Israel with weapons and ammunition.
Abu Shamala said that Israel is killing Palestinians by using these weapons given by the United States. He said that a missile launched by Israel has already killed one of his uncles and his two cousins. Expressing anger at the US government, he said, "I am angry that our government is still sending military supplies and missiles to Israel."
Another Palestinian protester, Nora Khoury, said she also lost a relative in Israeli bombings last week. He commented, Now it has literally become impossible for some of us to sleep, eat, work, in other words, to carry on with life.
On this day, many Jews also participated in this protest. One of them is Anna Baltzer. He was saying, 'I participated in this protest as a Jew. I am the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor in Germany. I grew up hearing stories from my grandmother about how she survived the Nazis. Today, Israel is using my history, my family's history, to kill Palestinian families in Gaza.
According to CBS News, the protest started in the morning and lasted until 3 pm. In other words, the protestors blocked the supply ship for about 8 hours. Around 3 pm, the protesters were removed from the ship and the port by using extra force. The ship then left the port of Cape Auckland.
Although Abu Shamala and other protesters are disappointed by the decision by US authorities, they say their protest will have a lasting impact on US lawmakers. Abu Shamala said no more US military aid to Israel. We can force the government in this regard. No amount of fear can stop us.
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