Hundreds of demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have interrupted traffic at the Port of Oakland over the weekend.
The pro-Palestinian organizers said the Saturday protest was intended to shut down the port to demand an end to U.S. economic and military support of Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Operations at the ninth busiest container port in the U.S. continued through the day, spokesman Robert Bernardo said. Hundreds of protesters walked along Maritime Street and blocked traffic, he said.
“As long as the U.S. enables this war with our tax dollars and through our port, there can be no business as usual.” Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center
“The Oakland Port has facilitated the transport of weapons, military equipment, and technology that fuel the Israeli genocide of Palestinians,” Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said in a statement. “As long as the U.S. enables this war with our tax dollars and through our port, there can be no business as usual.”
Bernardo said none of the port’s container services go to the Middle East.
In November, a U.S. military cargo vessel, the MV Cape Orlando, was delayed from departing the Port of Oakland by demonstrators protesting the U.S. role in Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Arab Resource and Organizing Center said three protesters who climbed onto the vessel were detained by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Confronting Pelosi
On Sunday morning, protestors have gathered outside of the San Fransisco home of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi to protest U.S. aid to Israel and raise awareness about ongoing violence in Gaza, according to a press release from organizers.
“This Sunday morning, Nancy Pelosi will experience a simulation of what life is like in Gaza today,” the group Codepink: Women for Peace said in a press release before the event.
A second protest for the same cause at Pelosi’s home was scheduled later in the day.
The two events were organized by independent subgroups within the Codepink non-profit. The protests were held on Broadway between Divisadero Street and Scott Street in San Francisco.
Bay City News staff Grace Marion and Pete Young contributed to this report.