[News] Campaign launches against shipping giant Maersk over genocidal weapons trade

[Anti-Imperialist News]

peoplesdispatch.org
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/06/03/campaign-launches-against-shipping-giant-maersk-over-genocidal-weapons-trade/>
Campaign launches against shipping giant Maersk over genocidal weapons
trade
Natalia Marques
June 3, 2024
------------------------------


[image: maersk-logistics-pym.jpg]

On June 3, the Palestinian Youth Movement announced a new global campaign
targeting Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, a
vital piece in the flow of weapons from the United States to Israel.

PYM, a transnational Palestinian diaspora formation, has led mass
mobilizations in several countries, especially in North America,
challenging the US and Canada’s unconditional support for Israeli genocide
in Gaza. The organization now seeks to take on the logistics industry
shipping arms that transports the weapons that are used to carry out the
genocide.

“Maersk ships transport weapons and weapons components, meaning Maersk
actively facilitates the flow of weapons to Israel to use in its criminal
war in Gaza,” said PYM’s Nadya Tannous. “Without Maersk, those weapons
would not reach Israel. Maersk guarantees the consistent supply necessary
for the destruction of Gaza.”

Between 2018 and 2022, 68% of Israel’s weapons imports came from the US.
Maersk plays an indispensable role in shipping these weapons to Gaza, as
the company has transported over USD 300 million in weapons components to
US arms manufacturers since October. These include Northrup Gruman,
Woodward, RTX/Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin.

“Arms manufacturers outsource the production of weapons components, like
the wings for fighter jets, ammunition, and engines. These components are
then placed on a shipping container and brought to weapons manufacturing
facilities in the U.S. where they are assembled then shipped to Israel to
conduct the genocide of Palestinians. Logistics companies play an invisible
but insidious and central role in making and profiting off the weapons that
Israel uses to kill Palestinians. The mask is off. The people must
demonstrate what the true cost is of supporting genocide,” said Tannous.

The campaign aims to bring together diverse sectors of the Palestinian
diaspora and solidarity movement, including labor unions, students, and
community organizations to demand that Maersk cut ties with Israel. PYM is
calling on organizations to endorse the campaign and sign the petition
<https://www.maskoffmaersk.com/petition-1> to end the transportation of
weapons to Israel, cut all contracts that fuel the genocide, and implement
an arms embargo against Israel.

*Peoples Dispatch* spoke to a representative from the Palestinian Youth
Movement about the several fronts in the campaign. “We’re planning on
engaging with labor unions and different labor and sector-based formations
to organize around Maersk as a target,” the representative told *Peoples
Dispatch*. “We’re also planning a mobilization front, which is going to
start with more mass mobilizations around Maersk targets to make Maersk a
household name. These logistics companies get away with no one knowing who
they are, and being invisible players in the imperial war machine.”

The campaign will also engage in a divestment strategy involving putting
pressure on city councils, pension funds, and university campuses who might
have partnerships or investments in Maersk.
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