A coordinated refusal to transport any arms destined for Israel, where they are used to continue the genocidal onslaught, could bring the Israeli war machine to a halt.
Workers at docks in Italy and France stopped shipments of weapons to Israel last week. The 19 pallets of components were destined for Haifa where they would be used by the Israeli state in their ongoing genocidal war against the people of Gaza.
Workers with the General Union CGT of Dockers and Ports of Fos-sur-Mer blocked a shipment of Eurolinks machine gun parts on 5 June, as well as a following, secret shipment of guns by Aubert and Duval, which had been bought by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, after the cargo was revealed by the French NGO Disclose,
The materials were due to be loaded onto the Contship Era, run by Israeli cargo company ZIM, and destined for the port of Haifa, Israel. On its way, it was bound to stop in Genoa, Italy, where it was also successfully blocked from docking. Genoa Port Workers’ Collective (CALP) announced they would block the ship from docking, with support from the USB union. CALP’s statement said “We oppose all wars and refuse to be complicit in the genocide in Gaza.” The Conship Era is due to make a final stop in Salerno, Italy before returning to Haifa.
While leaders like Macron have now come out calling for an end to the mass killing in Gaza, in the face of massive political pressure, their governments still shamefully continue to send weapons to Netanyahu’s blood-soaked government. But workers’ action has the power to stop the war machine in its tracks.
Workers at ports and docks in other countries should follow suit. A coordinated refusal to transport any arms destined for Israel, where they are used to continue the genocidal onslaught, could bring the Israeli war machine to a halt.
An inspiring example of this type of working-class internationalism has also been on display in the strikes of dock workers in Sweden, with the refusal of workers in Belgium to transport strikebreakers. The Swedish dock workers voted earlier this year for a blockade on Israeli armaments. Disgracefully, the vice-president of the Gothenburg RoRo Terminals (GRT) union, Erik Helgeson, has been unfairly dismissed for his role. The French state has also targeted activists standing with Palestine in recent months. Such reprisals must be resisted by the workers’ movement internationally.
International Socialist Alternative sends its solidarity to the heroic dock workers in Fos-sur-Mer and Genoa, as well as the GRT dockworkers in Sweden.
Over the last 19 months we have seen inspiring mass protests for Palestine around the world. But the movement has so far been unable to stop the slaughter. The action of dock workers shows the power of workers’ action to make a decisive difference by stopping all arms shipments to the Israeli state and bringing an end to their genocidal war.
