[News] Israeli Company Targeted by Oakland Blockade Imports Ammunition Into US

[Anti-Imperialist News]

    Israeli Company Targeted by Oakland Blockade Imports Ammunition Into US

Thursday, 28 August 2014 00:00 By Darwin BondGraham 
<http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/47393>
*http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25844-israeli-company-targeted-by-oakland-blockade-imports-ammunition-into-us*

/Israeli-owned shipping company Zim, the target of recent port blockades 
organized by Palestinian solidarity activists in California, is 
importing millions of rounds of small arms ammunition into the United 
States each year./

Pro-Palestinian activists in California stopped Israeli-owned cargo 
ships from unloading olives, wines and ceramics at busy marine terminals 
in Oakland and Los Angeles last week. Import records show, however, that 
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., the Israeli company that was the 
target of last week's "port blockades," is also delivering millions of 
rounds of Israeli-manufactured small arms ammunition to the United 
States each year. Zim also delivers weapons systems components for the 
Israeli and Greek governments to contractors in the United States for 
repairs and upgrades.

Activists in Oakland picketed the city's busy port 
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25750-oakland-activists-block-the-boat-for-three-days-running> 
for five days starting August 16, preventing longshore workers from 
unloading the Zim Piraeus, one of 89 ships in the Zim fleet. The Zim 
Haifa was scheduled to dock in Long Beach on Saturday, August 23, but 
protesters there said they delayed its unloading, too. In Washington, 
protesters rallied at the Port of Tacoma where another Zim ship was 
scheduled to arrive on August 25.

Bills of lading for the vessels that docked in Oakland and Long Beach 
show mostly agricultural goods and building materials were carried in 
the ships' containers.

But on August 15, just a few days before the blockade of the Zim Piraeus 
in Oakland, the Zim Constanza arrived at the Port of Savannah, along the 
Atlantic coast of Georgia, laden with millions of rounds of 
Israeli-manufactured 5.56-millimeter rifle bullets destined for sale in 
the United States. Records show 
<http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/IMI-FedCartridge_9mmLuger_Zim8-15-2014.pdf> 
that the Zim Constanza was also carrying 1.3 million rounds of 
9-millimeter Luger bullets.The ammunition was destined for Federal 
Cartridge <http://www.federalpremium.com/company/contact_us.aspx> of 
Anoka, Minnesota. The company (which also operates under the name 
Federal Premium Ammunition) sells rounds of these exact specifications 
to the public, but also to the US military, and federal and local police 
agencies.

Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing 
Center, one of the groups involved in the port blockades, told Truthout 
she isn't surprised by Zim's ammunition shipments, but called the 
imports disturbing. "We already know that Israel trains local law 
enforcement, and that the US supports Israel militarily and 
economically," Kiswani said. "This shows that Israel plays a role in the 
militarism and repression of our local communities, not only through 
trainings and sharing of repressive tactics and strategies, but also 
through its material support of weaponry and technology."

"Because of companies like Zim, because of the apartheid State of Israel 
and the US government, from Oakland to Ferguson to Palestine, we are 
seeing the same weapons being used to murder people, the same technology 
surveilling our movements, the same torture tactics used on our 
prisoners, and the same tear gas assaulting communities," Kiswani said.

Bills of lading for the August 15 small arms shipment delivered by Zim 
show that the bullets were manufactured by Israel Military Industries 
Ltd., a weapons manufacturing company located in the city of Ramat 
Hasharon, north of Tel Aviv in Israel. Israel Military Industries 
supplies the Israel Defense Forces with many of its weapons, including 
missiles and artillery. Records show that the Israeli ammunition carried 
by Zim is being imported primarily by Federal Cartridge, but that 
several smaller companies in Tennessee and Washington State are also 
receiving small arms shipments delivered by Zim ships.

Federal Cartridge did not respond to a request for information for this 
article. It's not clear, therefore, whether the Israel Military 
Industries ammunition Federal Cartridge is importing on Zim ships is 
destined for sale to the public, the US military or police agencies. 
Federal Cartridge is a subsidiary of Alliant Techsystems 
<http://www.atk.com/>, the largest provider of ammunition for the US 
military. Alliant Techsystems also supplies the US military with missile 
and artillery ordnance. Local police forces in the United States are 
also major customers of Alliant Techsystems and its subsidiary Federal 
Cartridge.

A year's worth of data reveals that a prolific quantity of ammunition 
manufactured by Israel Military Industries is being imported by Federal 
Cartridge on Zim ships into the United States. Several Zim vessels made 
at least 17 different trips between Haifa, Israel and the Port of 
Savannah over the last year, shipping ammunition for delivery to Federal 
Cartridge's facilities in Minnesota. Most of the ammunition consisted of 
5.56-millimeter rifle bullets, but in July, the Zim Tarragonaarrived at 
the Port of Savannah carrying 20 pallets 
<http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/IMI-FedCart_9mmHollowPoints_Zim7-17-2014.pdf>, 
or 1.3 million rounds, of 9-millimeter hollow point bullets. Hollow 
point rounds expand on contact with human flesh and do greater damage 
than most other types of ammunition.

Maor Aharoni, a spokesperson for Zim, provided the following statement 
to Truthout: "As always, ZIM [is] striving to maintain its high level of 
service at all times, and especially at the current political 
environment. Delivering best service possible is our top priority, and 
we are working in full cooperation with local authorities where we 
operate to secure smooth operation to our vessels." Aharoni did not 
address the issue of ammunition shipments.

Federal Cartridge's contracts since 2007 to provide the US Navy with 
5.56-millimeter rifle ammunition have exceeded $180 million in value, 
according to a government contract database 
<http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4595>. Last 
year, Federal Cartridge was selected by the FBI to supply 
<https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=6f5497202cd7bdc3a14b754a3b3932ec&tab=core&_cview=1> 
9-millimeter Luger ammunition to the agency.

Alliant Techsystems produces a trademarked law enforcement brand of 
ammunition <http://le.atk.com/> through Federal Cartridge that includes 
a 115-grain, 9-millimeter bullet, the exact type of bullet the company 
is importing from Israel. Other federal agencies including the Drug 
Enforcement Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchase 
ammunition from the Federal Cartridge Company. Federal Cartridge did not 
return phone calls as of publication to explain whether or not it sells 
Israel Military Industries ammunition to military and law enforcement 
customers.

"These types of rounds are the same ones used in the Negev light machine 
gun that have killed and maimed Palestinian men, women and children 
during Israel's past and current attacks on civilians in Gaza," Jaime 
Omar Yassin, an Oakland resident who was involved in the organizing of 
the port blockade there, told Truthout. "If this ammunition is indeed 
being bought by federal agencies like the FBI and ICE, they will kill 
and terrorize mostly black and brown civilians in the drug war and the 
war against the undocumented here."

Zim's ships also haul weapons systems into the United States for repairs 
and re-export. For example, in January 2014, the Zim Rio Grandedelivered 
a shipment of aircraft parts sent by the Greek Ministry of Defense to 
the Port of New York. The parts were imported by Integrated Procurement 
Technologies 
<http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/AircraftPartsGoleta.pdf>, 
a Goleta, California-based distributor of spare parts for aerospace 
weapons systems. The same ship offloaded another batch of military 
aircraft parts bound for Kellstrom Industries, a weapons systems 
reseller located in Florida.

On August 8, 2014, Lockheed Martin, the largest US military contractor, 
imported an amphibious vehicle manufactured by Plasan Ltd 
<http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/LockheedAmphibiousVehcile.pdf>., 
an Israeli arms manufacturer. Lockheed has also used Zim ships to 
transport military aircraft components sent to its US facilities by the 
Greek Air Force.

Kiswani told Truthout that more boat blockades are planned beyond the 
West Coast: "So long as this repression continues, so too will our 
community organizing and resistance. Isolating Zionism is more important 
now than ever, and targeting Zim is one very tangible way of doing so."

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20140828/267ee5be/attachment.htm>