Israeli Zim ship Piraeus may leave Oakland to unload cargo-ILWU 10 Members Refuse To Work Israeli Ship

Israeli Zim ship Piraeus may leave Oakland to unload cargo-ILWU 10 Members Refuse To Work Israeli Ship
Israeli Zim ship may leave Oakland to unload cargo
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Israeli-ship-may-leave-Oakland-to-...
Henry K. Lee
Updated 1:14 pm, Tuesday, August 19, 2014

(08-19) 11:04 PDT OAKLAND -- An Israeli cargo ship at the Port of Oakland will "eventually leave" for another West Coast port if activists protesting Israel's military actions in Gaza continue a waterfront demonstration that has blocked the ship's unloading, Israel's consul general in San Francisco said Tuesday.

The ship doesn't travel to Israel and instead navigates between the United States, the Caribbean and Asia, said Andy David, Israel's consul general to the Pacific Northwest.

"They chose a symbol, perhaps, and they're trying to portray it as hurting the Israeli government, but they're really causing damage to the people who live here, and to me this is exactly the definition of political terrorism," David said. "They're trying to achieve a goal, but they don't care about the innocent people hurt along the way."

The protesters, organizing under the motto "Block the Boat," first converged at theInternational Container Terminal on Sunday to try to prevent the Piraeus from being unloaded. A handful of demonstrators remained Monday morning, and more arrived later to try to block the evening shift of workers from unloading the ship.

Longshore workers responsible for unloading the vessel have refused to do so, not because they are taking sides in the political dispute, but because they refuse to work "under armed police escort - not with our experience with the police in this community," said Melvin MacKay, president of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local10, citing workers' injuries caused by police projectiles at a 2003 port protest.

Only when officers "dispersed" at 9 p.m. Monday did longshore workers agree to enter the facility, said union spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent. Those who declined to work on the ship were released, she said. Sargent said the peaceful demonstrators were outnumbered 5-to-1 by Oakland police and Alameda County sheriff's deputies.

It was not immediately known whether longshore workers would report to work Tuesday.

They said longshore workers have been concerned about port safety during protests since several people protesting the Iraq war were injured in a 2003 port demonstration when Oakland police fired nonlethal projectiles, including wood bullets and bean bags, without provocation and without allowing them a chance to disperse.

Port officials said they did not know when the ship would be unloaded.

The Piraeus is managed by Israel's largest shipping firm, Zim Integrated Shipping Services. David said the vessel is only 32 percent owned by Israeli shareholders, and the rest is owned by various international interests, including banks and other shipping companies.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Kurtis Alexander contributed to this report.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @henryklee