For months, a coalition of activists and labor organizations has been demanding that the Port of Oakland stop shipping military equipment to Israel. This week, they gained a key supporter: Mayor Barbara Lee.

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.

“As 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,” Lee said. “Thus, I share your concerns about weapons and military cargo being shipped through the Oakland International Airport.”

Lee said she would continue to express her concerns to the Port of Oakland’s leadership. The mayor also reiterated her support for Rep. Lateefah Simon’s Block the Bombs Act, which was introduced last May. Simon’s bill would withhold the shipment of offensive weapons to Israel.

“This policy change would prevent weapons of war from being shipped through any U.S. port, including Oakland’s,” Lee said in her statement.

Last year, the activist group Palestinian Youth Movement published a report that documented how hundreds of shipments of armaments have traveled to Israel through Oakland’s airport. The report claimed that over 250 civilian cargo planes had transported weapons or military equipment, including F-35 fighter jet components, from OAK to Nevatim Airbase, an Israeli military installation.

After Hamas launched an attack 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, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing nearly 2 million. The parties entered into the first phase of a ceasefire last October, although Israel has continued to carry out military strikes killing Palestinians.   

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 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’s leading experts on genocide have weighed in, declaring that the Israeli government has committed a genocide in Gaza. Israel denies wrongdoing during the war.

Port officials say they can’t stop the arms shipments

A coalition called the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo 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.

“We are proud of our mayor for once again standing on the right side of history and embodying Oakland’s social justice values by coming out strong against military cargo going to Israel out of OAK Airport,” Aisha Nizar, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in a statement. “We 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.”

In their own statement, which the Board issued last November, port officials said, “Our 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.”

However, port officials said that after researching the issue and meeting with key stakeholders, they have determined that the port is “strictly bound by federal law” and that it cannot limit or prohibit shipments through the airport.

“The 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,” the port said.

Officials deferred to federal lawmakers on the question of exporting military equipment, but noted that they “strongly support” the Ban the Bombs Act, and are committed to working with local leaders and groups around advocacy efforts.

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