Protesters Try to Block Port of Oakland After Report of Military Shipments to Israel
Sid Shniad
KQED Sep 19, 2025
Protesters Try to Block Port of Oakland After Report of Military Shipments to Israel
Hundreds of protesters tried to block the Port of Oakland on Friday morning, calling for the international shipping hub to cease reported shipments of military equipment to Israel.
The protest comes weeks after a report by the Palestinian Youth Movement claimed to have uncovered records that show that Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, run by the port, has been a pass-through for hundreds of shipments of military equipment headed for Israel.
Shipping documents obtained by PYM and viewed by KQED showed at least 280 shipments of military equipment this year, including replacement parts for the U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets, which Israel has used in aerial bombardments of Gaza. Nearly all were bound for Nevatim Airbase, where Israel stations its F-35 fleet.
“We, the people of the Bay Area, do not want to and will not allow that to continue to happen,” said a protester who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Hundreds gathered at the Huey P. Newton sculpture on Mandela Parkway at 6 a.m. to call on the port to cease the shipments and express solidarity for the Global Sumud Flotilla, a cohort of boats loaded with food and aid headed to Gaza. The fleet carrying pro-Palestinian activists, including Greta Thunberg, set sail from Barcelona last week and is expected to reach Gaza in the next few days.
Pro-Palestinian activists block an intersection on Seventh Street in West Oakland near the 880 freeway on Sept. 19, 2025.. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)The Oakland activists said they are joining a global call from Italian dockworkers to hold up shipments if the flotilla is not allowed onto Gaza’s shores.
The group marched to the Seventh Street northbound exit of Interstate 880, where they attempted to block semi-trucks headed for the port’s access.
Protesters donning keffiyehs and raising Palestinian flags circled around the intersection, blocking traffic, and wrote “Let Gaza Live” in large, white letters in its center. By 8:30 a.m., rows of cars and trucks were backed up exiting the freeway in both directions, but they did not appear to be causing significant traffic on the freeway itself.
A separate fleet of about a dozen kayakers protesting the port’s shipments to Israel also paddled into its inner harbor early Friday, though protesters on land said the two groups were not affiliated.
Port of Oakland officials told KQED that as of 7:30 a.m., all of its terminal operations were proceeding normally.
“We have visibility of a small group of kayaks in the Inner Harbor, but there is no security threat or impact to vessel traffic for maritime operations, including S.F. Bay Ferry service,” spokesperson Matthew Davis said.
Davis said that the crowd had dispersed by 9 a.m. and that no service interruptions resulted from the “peaceful assembly.”
“All labor has reported to the marine terminals and truck traffic has been operating smoothly all morning,” he said via email.
According to the Palestinian Youth Movement’s report put out in August, the military shipments to Israel appeared to be traveling through the port from the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport via FedEx. On Thursday, hundreds of protesters rallied outside the airport, demanding it stop transporting the cargo as well.
Airport spokesperson Kaley Skantz said it is “legally required to accommodate federally authorized air traffic, including air cargo arranged by the U.S. government and/or private air cargo providers, including FedEx.”
“FedEx has a long-term ground lease with the Port of Oakland and is the largest air cargo carrier operating at the airport,” Skantz said in a statement. “All of FedEx’s flight and loading operations are carried out by FedEx employees directly in areas that FedEx exclusively controls.”