[News] Embargo of Israeli military cargo gains Oakland Mayor Lee’s support

[Anti-Imperialist News]

oaklandside.org
<https://oaklandside.org/2026/02/27/oakland-mayor-barbara-lee-arms-embargo-israel/>
Embargo of Israeli military cargo gains Oakland Mayor Lee’s support
Eli Wolfe
February 27, 2026
------------------------------
Activists gathered before a December 18th, 2025 Port Commission meeting to
demand an arms embargo against Israel. Credit: Eli Wolfe / The Oaklandside

For months, a coalition of activists and labor organizations has been
demanding that the Port of Oakland stop shipping military equipment
<https://oaklandside.org/2025/08/28/oakland-airport-is-a-key-hub-in-weapons-shipments-to-israel-activist-group-finds/>
to Israel. This week, they gained a key supporter: Mayor Barbara Lee.

In a statement shared with activists earlier this week, Lee made it clear
that she does not want weapons or military cargo to be shipped through the
Port, which includes the Oakland airport and maritime terminals.

“As you know, for decades, I have been opposed to the use of public
property to militarize arms shipments, federal immigration enforcement, and
public safety, whether it is in Oakland or anywhere else,” Lee said. “Thus,
I share your concerns about weapons and military cargo being shipped
through the Oakland International Airport.”

Lee said she would continue to express her concerns to the Port of
Oakland’s leadership. The mayor also reiterated her support for Rep.
Lateefah Simon’s Block the Bombs Act
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3565/text?s=2&r=1>,
which was introduced last May. Simon’s bill would withhold the shipment of
offensive weapons to Israel.

“This policy change would prevent weapons of war from being shipped through
any U.S. port, including Oakland’s,” Lee said in her statement.

Last year, the activist group Palestinian Youth Movement published a report
<https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6892773634f0fe2a947a7f89/t/68af2b618b32ba25e7b347c1/1756332887757/Exposing-Oakland-Airports-Military-Cargo-Shipments-to-Israel.pdf>
that documented how hundreds of shipments of armaments have traveled to
Israel through Oakland’s airport. The report claimed that over 250 civilian
cargo planes
<https://oaklandside.org/2025/08/28/oakland-airport-is-a-key-hub-in-weapons-shipments-to-israel-activist-group-finds/>
had transported weapons or military equipment, including F-35 fighter jet
components, from OAK to Nevatim Airbase, an Israeli military installation.

After Hamas launched an attack
<https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israel-marks-2-years-since-oct-7-attack-as-gaza-war-grinds-on>
on Israel in October 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking 254
hostages, Israel engaged in a systematic bombardment campaign and invasion
of Gaza, killing tens of thousands
<https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/HumanTollGaza> of people and
displacing nearly 2 million. The parties entered into the first phase
<https://www.cfr.org/articles/guide-trumps-twenty-point-gaza-peace-deal> of
a ceasefire last October, although Israel has continued to carry out
military strikes killing Palestinians
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/27/israeli-attacks-on-police-sites-kill-five-in-southern-central-gaza>
.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants
<https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/war-crimes-court-issues-warrants-for-netanyahu-and-former-israeli-defense-minister>
for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister
Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity in 2024. The court also issued an
arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Israel killed
Deif in an airstrike in 2024. Many of the world’s leading experts on
genocide have weighed in <https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cde3eyzdr63o>,
declaring that the Israeli government has committed a genocide in Gaza.
Israel denies wrongdoing during the war.
Port officials say they can’t stop the arms shipments

A coalition called the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo
<https://armsembargonow.com/labor> has spent months pushing for an end to
the shipping of arms to Israel, including showing up to Port board meetings
to demand action. The coalition has picked up endorsements from local labor
unions, including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10,
SEIU Local 1021, and the Oakland Education Association.

“We are proud of our mayor for once again standing on the right side of
history and embodying Oakland’s social justice values by coming out strong
against military cargo going to Israel out of OAK Airport,” Aisha Nizar, a
member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in a statement. “We are now
calling on the Board of Port Commissioners to demonstrate the same
leadership displayed by Mayor Lee, and to take swift and decisive action to
end these shipments that are allowing the state of Israel to continue a
genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

In their own statement, which the Board issued last November
<https://www.iflyoak.com/press_release/board-of-port-commissioners-statement-regarding-air-cargo-activities-at-oak/>,
port officials said, “Our hearts grieve over war and the loss of innocent
life. We support a lasting ceasefire and condemn any acts of terrorism and
genocide in Israel and Gaza, respectively.”

However, port officials said that after researching the issue and meeting
with key stakeholders, they have determined that the port is “strictly
bound by federal law” and that it cannot limit or prohibit shipments
through the airport.

“The Port of Oakland and its Board of Port Commissioners do not have the
legal authority to determine which legally authorized items a carrier can
transport nor to where it is destined, due to federal law and FAA
regulations that govern all airports in the United States,” the port said.

Officials deferred to federal lawmakers on the question of exporting
military equipment, but noted that they “strongly support” the Ban the
Bombs Act, and are committed to working with local leaders and groups
around advocacy efforts.

[image: White man with long hair in a bun, around age 30, stands with his
arms crossed.] <https://oaklandside.org/author/eli-wolfe/>

Eli Wolfe reports on City Hall for The Oaklandside. He was previously a
senior reporter for San José Spotlight, where he had a beat covering Santa
Clara County’s government and transportation. He also worked as an
investigative reporter for the Pasadena-based newsroom FairWarning, where
he covered labor, consumer protection and transportation issues. He started
his journalism career as a freelancer based out of Berkeley. Eli’s stories
have appeared in The Atlantic, NBCNews.com, Salon, the San Francisco
Chronicle, and elsewhere. Eli graduated from UC Santa Cruz and grew up in
San Francisco.

More by Eli Wolfe <https://oaklandside.org/author/eli-wolfe/>
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