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<div align="center"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
color: rgb(20, 20, 20); font-size: 19px; ">For Immediate
Release—August 18, 2014</span></b><span
style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;
text-align: center; background-image: initial;
background-repeat: initial; "><span style="color: rgb(20,
20, 20); font-size: 19px; "> </span><b><span
style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(20,
20, 20); font-size: 39px; "> </span></b><b><span
style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(20,
20, 20); font-size: 23px; ">BAY AREA ACTIVISTS DECLARE
VICTORY — ISRAELI CARGO SHIP BLOCKED FOR ENTIRE WEEKEND
AT</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial,
sans-serif; color: rgb(20, 20, 20); font-size: 23px; "><br>
PORT OF OAKLAND</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"
style="color: rgb(20, 20, 20); font-size: 27px; "> </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; text-align: center; background-image: initial;
background-repeat: initial; " align="center"><b><span
style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(20,
20, 20); font-size: 19px; ">Historic Port Shutdown
Contributes to International Boycott, Divest, and
Sanctions Movement Against Israel in Protest of Its
7-Year Siege of Gaza</span></b><b><span
style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(20,
20, 20); font-size: 22px; "> </span></b></p>
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background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; "><span
style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-repeat:
initial; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">Oakland -
For two days in a row, the Bay Area community prevented
a ZIM Lines container ship, the most prominent shipping
company in Israel, from docking and unloading goods at
the port of Oakland in response to Israel’s latest
attack on Gaza and its ongoing occupation of Palestine. </span><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></font><span
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Cambria, serif;
font-size: 24px; ">Israel's violence over the last month
and a half has left over 2,000 Palestinians dead and over
10,000 injured.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">The ZIM
Pireaus arrived in Northern California the afternoon of
August 15 and was scheduled to unload early Saturday
morning. As a result of the build up for a mass
mobilization at the port, organized by Block the Boat, a
coalition of Bay Area organizations and activists, ZIM
was pushed back onto the Santa Cruz shores, idling
overnight. Organizers called this an early victory, and
called for community members to come at 3 PM to stop the
scheduled work crews from unloading the ship. As the
5000 person protest marched toward the gate, organizers
were notified that the ship was not going to dock and
longshoremen had been told not to report to work. Block
the Boat declared victory.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">Then,
Sunday afternoon on August 17, organizers received word
that the ship had arrived and workers were being called
to unload it. Within 30 minutes they mobilized more than
400 people back to the port and organized community
pickets at Berths 57 and 59. Workers honored the picket
lines, stood on the side of justice, and the ship was
not unloaded.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">According
to Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of the Arab Resource
and Organizing Center, “Our actions this weekend have
sent a clear message to the state of Israel that
apartheid and Zionism have never been and are not
welcome in Oakland or anywhere on the West Coast.”</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">"We are
learning from the historical success of the
international movement to boycott apartheid in South
Africa," says Sameh Ayesh, a member of Arab Youth
Organizing. "Just as we did with the Block the Boat
mobilization, we will build on the rapidly growing BDS
movement until the Israeli apartheid regime falls." The
Block the Boat action has received widespread
international attention, and is part of the growing
campaign to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel
for its ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people with
the military, economic and diplomatic support of the
United States.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">“We hope
that this historic port blockade will inspire further
port blockades and actions by workers and communities
all over the world to isolate Zionism and end the
oppression of Palestinians,” says Monadel Herzallah, a
former labor organizer and current member of the US
Palestinian Community Network .</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black">Another
ZIM ship is planning to dock in Tacoma and Seattle this
week. In both cities, the ship will be met by
communities united in their determination to Block the
Boat and stand with Palestinians in their struggle for
freedom and self-determination.<br>
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 20px; margin-bottom:
0.0001pt; "><font style="font-size: 24px; " size="4"><span
style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://araborganizing.org/">http://araborganizing.org/</a><br>
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style="font-family:Cambria,serif;color:black"><br>
</span></font></p>
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<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
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