Charmaine Chua, No Harbor for Genocide & Workers in Palestine
Samer Araabi, Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Vish Soroushian, UAW Local 2320, East Bay DSA
Jocelyn De Sena, SEIU Local 1021, Oakland People for an Arms Embargo
Palestinian trade unions have called on workers everywhere to unite to end Zionist supremacy and ethnic cleansing by halting the sale and funding of arms to Israel immediately. While the global response has not been sufficient to stop the current genocide in Gaza, certain tactical interventions have demonstrated that international labor is capable of achieving meaningful advancements in BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions). This discussion will examine concrete examples of community-labor coalitions that have significantly impeded Israel's ability to engage in indiscriminate war, including successful Bay Area campaigns on divestment and blockades against Israeli shipping companies, and how these campaigns are instructive for guiding the labor movement as a force against Zionism and occupation moving forward.
