{"id":1360996,"date":"2023-11-29T20:06:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T20:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/?p=303563"},"modified":"2023-11-29T20:06:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T20:06:01","slug":"australian-trade-unionists-for-palestine-are-blocking-israeli-ships-at-melbourne-and-sydney-ports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/11\/29\/australian-trade-unionists-for-palestine-are-blocking-israeli-ships-at-melbourne-and-sydney-ports\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Trade Unionists for Palestine are blocking Israeli ships at Melbourne and Sydney ports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\""Breaking<\/figure>
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This interview was originally published in video form by <\/em>Breaking Points<\/a> on Nov. 26, 2023. The transcript of the interview, which has been lightly edited for clarity, readability, and time sensitivity, is shared here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Over the past month and a half, with each passing day, more Israeli bombs have fallen on Gaza. More bodies have been blown apart and buried under the rubble. Close to 2 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes. The world has borne witness to a genocidal military campaign to clear out Gaza once and for all. And every day, every hour, it feels like the chance to stop one of humanity’s most inhumane crimes is slipping through our fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, even with this week\u2019s temporary \u201chumanitarian pause\u201d and exchange of prisoners and hostages, the powers that be have shown no interest whatsoever in listening to the thundering calls for a permanent ceasefire that are coming from governments and mass demonstrations around the world, particularly the Biden administration here in the United States, the increasingly fascistic Netanyahu government in Israel, and the arms manufacturers and war profiteers who are raking in billions from manufacturing mass death. This is prompting activists and people of conscience around the world to take direct action themselves to try to disrupt the war machine. And that includes working people in trade unions. In Australia, for instance, direct actions and protests have exploded across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Mostafa Rachwani recently reported<\/a> for The Guardian,<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Across the country, protests continue to be held in major cities. They include a daily sit-in in front of the Victorian parliament, weekly protests at the Sydney office of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and prayer vigils at various locations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Protests are being held against Israeli shipping company Zim at Port Botany in Sydney and at the Port of Melbourne, where there is an ongoing presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paddy Gibson, an organiser at Trade Unionists for Palestine, said workers were keeping an eye out for future Zim arrivals in order to facilitate snap protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur intention is to disrupt the businesses, and we\u2019re calling for a boycott of Zim shipping,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The group Trade Unionists for Palestine<\/a> made headlines in early November when they took action at the Port of Melbourne, blocking entry roads, preventing trucks from accessing the area where the Israeli shipping line operates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BREAKING: The Trade Unionists for Palestine group have shut down a Melbourne port, preventing trucks from accessing the area where an Israeli shipping line operates.

Protesters say shipping line ZIM has a long history of complicity in the oppression of the Palestinian people. pic.twitter.com\/vC9rPKQSE5<\/a><\/p>— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) November 8, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>