Block the Boat in Solidarity with Gaza

I was there . . .

by Jim Haber, December 2023, originally published at Jim Haber's blog.

The ship being blockaded at the Port of Oakland, November 3, 2023.

Photo by Jim Haber

I awoke the morning of Friday, November 3 to a phone alert that a ship in Oakland was bound to carry military cargo to Israel, and it was departing that morning. I heeded the call and diverted from going to work, for a little while, I thought.

Jim Haber in front of the blockaded boat.

Photo by Jim Haber

The ship was being untied as we chanted and marched outside a chain link fence and gate. They were keeping us on port property, away from the ship and dock that was federal property according to the signs. It looked like I would get to work not very late, really.

Somehow the gate got off track, and we were near the ship. No real security presence was there, just a few dock workers and one man with “security” on his jacket, but he did nothing. A rope ladder still hung down to an opening on the ship and the last coupe of ropes still held the ship to land. One, and then a couple more activists leapt onto rungs of the ladder. If they had been allowed to climb aboard, it all might have ended quickly, but the three were made to hang on. Coast guard came and wanted to control their rise and fall, so they hung on for six hours. One held on that long. The other two rested up on the ship for a while and then were whisked inside. The third took a couple more hours.

The ship departed as soon as they lifted the last intrepid soul inside. She was one rung too high, and they were able to lift the ladder up suddenly so she was “safely” grabbable. Their placement on the side of the ship made removing them seemingly impossible for the coast guard. Their safety protocols helped make the action and kept the activists from being brutalized. They were released right away, and they have not yet received any charges or arraignment. This government tactic of identifying protesters but holding off on arraigning them is in wide use today. People are leery of racking up multiple arrests unless they are trying to push the issue and be processed.

I was excited at the thought of being arrested as a group of us stood in support by the ship. A federal bust makes more sense, and I think the defense of necessity makes sense for any arrest intended to slow genocide. One lawyer thought that the block the boat three will likely be arraigned in January. Not sure, of course.

To keep up on and support all of the “Ceasefire now!” arrestees, here is a link.