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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://oaklandside.org/2026/02/27/oakland-mayor-barbara-lee-arms-embargo-israel/">oaklandside.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Embargo of Israeli military cargo gains Oakland Mayor Lee\u2019s support</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Eli Wolfe</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">February 27, 2026</div>
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<img width="408" height="306" src="https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IMG_9313-780x585.jpg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"> <span>Activists
gathered before a December 18th, 2025 Port Commission meeting to demand
an arms embargo against Israel. Credit: Eli Wolfe / The Oaklandside</span>
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<p>For months, a coalition of activists and labor organizations has been demanding that the Port of Oakland <a href="https://oaklandside.org/2025/08/28/oakland-airport-is-a-key-hub-in-weapons-shipments-to-israel-activist-group-finds/">stop shipping military equipment</a> to Israel. This week, they gained a key supporter: Mayor Barbara Lee.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>\u201cAs 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,\u201d Lee said.
\u201cThus, I share your concerns about weapons and military cargo being
shipped through the Oakland International Airport.\u201d</p>
<p>Lee said she would continue to express her concerns to the Port of
Oakland\u2019s leadership. The mayor also reiterated her support for Rep.
Lateefah Simon\u2019s <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3565/text?s=2&r=1">Block the Bombs Act</a>, which was introduced last May. Simon\u2019s bill would withhold the shipment of offensive weapons to Israel.</p>
<p>\u201cThis policy change would prevent weapons of war from being shipped
through any U.S. port, including Oakland\u2019s,\u201d Lee said in her statement.</p>
<p>Last year, the activist group Palestinian Youth Movement <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6892773634f0fe2a947a7f89/t/68af2b618b32ba25e7b347c1/1756332887757/Exposing-Oakland-Airports-Military-Cargo-Shipments-to-Israel.pdf">published a report</a>
that documented how hundreds of shipments of armaments have traveled to
Israel through Oakland\u2019s airport. The report claimed that <a href="https://oaklandside.org/2025/08/28/oakland-airport-is-a-key-hub-in-weapons-shipments-to-israel-activist-group-finds/">over 250 civilian cargo planes</a>
had transported weapons or military equipment, including F-35 fighter
jet components, from OAK to Nevatim Airbase, an Israeli military
installation.</p>
<p>After Hamas <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israel-marks-2-years-since-oct-7-attack-as-gaza-war-grinds-on">launched an attack</a>
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, <a href="https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/HumanTollGaza">killing tens of thousands</a> of people and displacing nearly 2 million. The parties <a href="https://www.cfr.org/articles/guide-trumps-twenty-point-gaza-peace-deal">entered into the first phase</a> of a ceasefire last October, although Israel has <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/27/israeli-attacks-on-police-sites-kill-five-in-southern-central-gaza">continued to carry out military strikes killing Palestinians</a>. </p>
<p>The International Criminal Court <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/war-crimes-court-issues-warrants-for-netanyahu-and-former-israeli-defense-minister">issued arrest warrants</a>
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\u2019s
leading experts on genocide <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cde3eyzdr63o">have weighed in</a>, declaring that the Israeli government has committed a genocide in Gaza. Israel denies wrongdoing during the war.</p>
<h2 id="gmail-h-port-officials-say-they-can-t-stop-the-arms-shipments">Port officials say they can\u2019t stop the arms shipments</h2>
<p>A coalition called the <a href="https://armsembargonow.com/labor">Oakland People\u2019s Arms Embargo</a>
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.</p>
<p>\u201cWe are proud of our mayor for once again standing on the right side
of history and embodying Oakland\u2019s social justice values by coming out
strong against military cargo going to Israel out of OAK Airport,\u201d Aisha
Nizar, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in a statement.
\u201cWe 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.\u201d</p>
<p>In their own statement, which the <a href="https://www.iflyoak.com/press_release/board-of-port-commissioners-statement-regarding-air-cargo-activities-at-oak/">Board issued last November</a>,
port officials said, \u201cOur 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.\u201d</p>
<p>However, port officials said that after researching the issue and
meeting with key stakeholders, they have determined that the port is
\u201cstrictly bound by federal law\u201d and that it cannot limit or prohibit
shipments through the airport.</p>
<p>\u201cThe 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,\u201d the
port said.</p>
<p>Officials deferred to federal lawmakers on the question of exporting
military equipment, but noted that they \u201cstrongly support\u201d the Ban the
Bombs Act, and are committed to working with local leaders and groups
around advocacy efforts.</p></div>
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<p><a href="https://oaklandside.org/author/eli-wolfe/" rel="author">
<img alt="White man with long hair in a bun, around age 30, stands with his arms crossed." src="https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cropped-20230420-210000-80x80.jpg" height="80" width="80" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"> </a></p><div>
<p>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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.</p>
<p><a href="https://oaklandside.org/author/eli-wolfe/" rel="author">
More by Eli Wolfe </a>
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