New York - Dockworkers in Oakland, CA refused to cross a picket line on Sunday morning to unload a ship from Israel, boycott campaigners said.

According to organizers, some 500 people, including labor and community activists, picketed at berth 57 of the Port of Oakland starting at 5 AM on Sunday, where a vessel operated by Israel's Zim ship lines was scheduled to be unloaded.

The demonstrators were denouncing Israel's deadly May 31 attack on a convoy of six ships carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. Nine civilians were killed in the raid, which set off a wave of international criticism, including increased calls for boycotts of Israeli companies.

Workers affiliated with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) refused to cross the picket line. An arbitrator upheld the legality of the workers' refusal to unload the ships.

The Oakland dockworkers joined counterparts in South Africa, Norway, Sweden and Malaysia, who have declared they will refuse to unload Israeli ships in the coming weeks.

Activists said they planned to return to the port at 4 PM for another picket at the beginning of the day's second shift.

Update: Activists released the following video of the morning's picket.

The San Francisco Chronicle has more:

"Our view is that the state of Israel can not engage in acts of piracy and kill people on the high seas and still think their cargo can go anywhere in the world," said Richard Becker, an organizer with ANSWER, one of many peace and labor groups involved in Sunday's action.

Becker estimated that 600 to 700 people joined the demonstration, many of them arriving at 5:30 a.m. Oakland police, who estimated the crowd at 500 people, reported no arrests.

The demonstrators want to block the unloading of the Zim ship for a full day. After convincing the day shift of longshoreman to honor the picket line, the demonstrators dispersed around 10 a.m., Becker said. The ship is scheduled to arrive in mid-afternoon, and the demonstrators plan to gather again around 4:30 p.m. and re-establish their picket line before the evening shift of longshoremen arrives at 6 p.m.

Above: The Port of Oakland as seen on 16 November 2008 [Photo: Eugene Zelenko, via Wikimedia Commons]

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