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<h2 class="itemTitle"> Israeli Company Targeted by Oakland Blockade
Imports Ammunition Into US </h2>
<span class="itemDateCreated"> Thursday, 28 August 2014 00:00 </span>
<span class="itemAuthor"> By <a
href="http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/47393">Darwin
BondGraham</a><br>
<b><small><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25844-israeli-company-targeted-by-oakland-blockade-imports-ammunition-into-us">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25844-israeli-company-targeted-by-oakland-blockade-imports-ammunition-into-us</a></small></small></small></b><br>
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</span>
<div class="itemFullText">
<p><em>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.</em></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Activists in Oakland <a
href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25750-oakland-activists-block-the-boat-for-three-days-running"
target="_blank">picketed the city's busy port</a> 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. <a
href="http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/IMI-FedCartridge_9mmLuger_Zim8-15-2014.pdf"
target="_blank">Records show</a> that the Zim Constanza was
also carrying 1.3 million rounds of 9-millimeter Luger
bullets.The ammunition was <a
href="http://www.federalpremium.com/company/contact_us.aspx"
target="_blank">destined for Federal Cartridge</a> 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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <a
href="http://www.atk.com/" target="_blank">Alliant Techsystems</a>,
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.</p>
<p>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 <a
href="http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/IMI-FedCart_9mmHollowPoints_Zim7-17-2014.pdf"
target="_blank">Zim Tarragonaarrived at the Port of Savannah
carrying 20 pallets</a>, 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <a
href="http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4595"
target="_blank">government contract database</a>. Last year,
Federal Cartridge was <a
href="https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=6f5497202cd7bdc3a14b754a3b3932ec&tab=core&_cview=1"
target="_blank">selected by the FBI to supply</a> 9-millimeter
Luger ammunition to the agency.</p>
<p>Alliant Techsystems produces a trademarked <a
href="http://le.atk.com/" target="_blank">law enforcement
brand of ammunition</a> 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.</p>
<p>"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."</p>
<p>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 <a title="AircraftPartsGoleta_1"
href="http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/AircraftPartsGoleta.pdf"
target="_blank">imported by Integrated Procurement
Technologies</a>, 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.</p>
<p>On August 8, 2014, Lockheed Martin, the largest US military
contractor, <a
href="http://truthoutdocs.cloudaccess.net/documents/LockheedAmphibiousVehcile.pdf"
target="_blank">imported an amphibious vehicle manufactured by
Plasan Ltd</a>., 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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
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