BDS: New York, New Jersey activists attempt block Israeli cargo ship

BDS activists have mobilized at ports in the past to stop Israeli cargo ships from unloading, the New York being the most recent.

Around 2,500 BDS protesters are seen flocking to the Port of Oakland, California, to stop a cargo ship operated by the Israeli-based ZIM company from unloading in protest of Operation Protective Edge, on August 16. 2014. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Around 2,500 BDS protesters are seen flocking to the Port of Oakland, California, to stop a cargo ship operated by the Israeli-based ZIM company from unloading in protest of Operation Protective Edge, on August 16. 2014.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Dozens of activists in New York City and New Jersey were set to mobilize at the Port of New York Sunday morning to block an Israeli-operated cargo ship from unloading in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
As of Monday morning, the boat, the ZIM Qingdao, operated by the Israeli international shipping company ZIM, is docked at the Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey – which is part of the the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There was a small protest on Sunday at the port.

According to a press release by the organizers, the protest is part of a global movement, and over 8,000 people worldwide had allegedly pledged to mobilize at different ports around the world to #BlockTheBoat.

This is not the first time BDS activists have mobilized at ports to stop Israeli cargo ships from unloading.
On June 2, 2021, protesters flocked to Seattle to stop another ZIM cargo ship.
Later, BDS activists blocked another ZIM cargo ship in Oakland. That effort ended in a victory for the activists, with the ship turning back to sea after workers with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 declined to cross the line of protesters to unload the ship’s cargo.
The Oakland incident was led by the San Francisco-based Arab Resource and Organizing Center, or AROC, as part of its weeklong “Block the Boat” campaign conceived as a response to Israeli actions in Gaza during the 11-day conflict last month, known as Operation Guardian of the Walls.
However, it is rooted in a similar incident from 2014, when protesters in Oakland gathered to stop another ZIM cargo ship from unloading during Operation Protective Edge.
This time, the spark behind the campaign was something else.
"We’re responding in large part to Palestinian workers themselves, with trade union federations having put out a global call to action against ongoing violence again Palestine," organizer Wassim Hage told The Jerusalem Post.

Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter


"This call for solidarity has been met by activists worldwide, from Oakland to Livorno, Italy, to Durban, South Africa, to NYC. While it’s difficult to know what will happen, we see our success in Oakland [and] Seattle... and the basis for our action in NYC, as tied to the stand organized labor has taken globally against Israel and for Palestinian’s right to return and to be free of violence on their homelands."
The Post has reached out to ZIM for comments. 
Sue Fishkoff/JTA and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.