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US and European unions' direct action stops Israeli ships


In a first for European labour unions, a week long boycott of ships carrying Israeli goods continues in Sweden. Above US dockers explain why they refused to unload an Israeli ship following the flotilla massacre. These are massive steps forward for the boycott, sanctions and divestment movement.
The Swedish Dock Workers Union (Hamnarbetarförbundet) on Wednesday launched a blockade of Israeli cargo in protest against the deadly raid on the Gaza-bound freedom flotilla last month, union representatives have confirmed.

The blockade, which also applies to Israeli ships, was launched "because of
the assault on the Ship to Gaza (flotilla), that we supported before they took
off ... and the blockade of the Gaza strip, which affects the civilian population," union spokesman Rolf Axelsson said.

The dock workers' protest is set to take place in all unionised Swedish ports, and is scheduled to and ends at midnight on June 29th.

Union chairman Björn A. Borg added the union called for an international investigation into the May 31st raid that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists. more


And the US labour movement is stirring on the issue also:
ILWU Explains Why they’ve refused to unload Israeli ship
The union workers of the ILWU explain their decision to not unload Israeli goods in the Oakland port, citing past decisions to unload the goods of other countries that violate human rights on a massive scale with U.S tax dollars and heeding the call of Palestinian civil society which has called on the world to apply boycott divestment and sanctions akin to the actions that brought down apartheid south Africa until Israel ends it’s brutal military occupation of the Palestinian people, ends the siege on gaza, and grants equal rights and respects the human rights of all people living under Israeli jurisdiction. more

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