Latin American leaders condemn Israeli actions

Latin American leaders have denounced Israel for Operation Protective Edge, its 50-day offensive in Gaza that has left more than 2,000 Palestinians —mostly civilians—dead, including 504 children.

Criticisms of Israel’s violence against Palestinians have come from all over the world but those coming out of Latin America remain the strongest of any other region.

Chile, currently a member of the U.N. Security Council, stated that the Israeli government “does not respect the fundamental norms of international humanitarian law.” Additionally, it has suspended all existing free trade agreements with Israel.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, along with several other leaders, placed Israel on the country’s “Terrorist States” list, the international news agency AFP reported. In a speech to the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, Morales said, “Israel does not guarantee the principle of respect for life and the basic right to live in harmony and peace in the international community.” He also eliminated a program that granted a visa waiver for Israeli citizens.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that Israel’s two-month offensive was a “massacre.”

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa joined the criticisms and canceled a planned official visit to Israel later this year.

Mercosur, a regional bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, urged “an immediate lifting of the blockade that is affecting the Gaza population, so that the free movement of people, food, medicine and humanitarian aid can flow freely in and out, both by land and sea,” and “an immediate and durable cease-fire.”

Finally, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador and Peru have all withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel, and Venezuela has suspended diplomatic relations.

Country by country, Latin America breaks along geopolitical fault lines on the Palestinian issue, as on most other foreign policy issues.

This condemnation for Israel’s actions is a result of its history of ongoing assaults committed against the Palestinian people, including the 7-year siege and blockade in Gaza that prohibits citizens from leaving and entering the coastal strip. Since July 7, 2014, more than 100,000 people have been displaced and made homeless by Israeli attacks; 244 schools have been damaged; and roughly eight out of every 10 of Gaza’s approximately 900,000 children are now dependent on humanitarian assistance.

US Activists Block Israeli Cargo After Gaza Onslaught

A diverse coalition of thousands of Bay Area activists took direct action at Oakland’s port Aug. 17 to disrupt business with Israel’s largest cargo shipping company, Zim Integrated Shipping Services.

These actions were in response to calls made by the Palestinian trade union movement for Palestine solidarity and U.S. labor rights activists to work together to oppose Israel’s most recent onslaught in Gaza.

At 5 p.m., rally organizers alerted Bay Area activists through social media that the Zim ship would dock in Oakland at 6 p.m. Within an hour, organizers were able to mobilize about 400 protesters to come the port where they formed a picket line, which port workers didn’t cross. Protesters successfully blocked the Israeli ship from unloading after workers responsible for unloading the ship didn’t show up to work due to safety concerns and a heavy police presence.

These actions are a part of the global movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel—a coordinated strategy that seeks to put economic pressure on Israel until it complies with international law and restores Palestinian rights by ending the occupation and blockade of Palestinian lands.