RAILROAD BLOCKADED IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE

By It's Going Down.

June 1, 2021




https://popularresistance.org/railroad-blockaded-in-solidarity-with-palestine/



Coastal Cities Vow To ‘Block The Boat.’

For several hours on Sunday, May 30th, hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists blockaded the Lisgar GO railway, located in so-called Mississauga, Ontario. The GO train system serves millions of commuters between different hubs throughout Canada. Activists were protesting to demand that the Canadian government stop supplying arms to the State of Israel.







One activist on social media posted following the demonstration:


After a three-hour shutdown of the railway, surrounded by police, with trains stopped dead in their tracks, we’ve dispersed with our heads held high. Thanks to all those who stood in solidarity with us. We will continue to fight for our families in Palestine. #StopArmingIsrael

This is not the first time anti-colonial movements have utilized train blockades as a tactic in struggle across so-called Canada. In the Spring of 2020, #ShutDownCanada demonstrators and Native warriors shutdown GO trains throughout Canada in protest against attacks on Wet’suwet’en sovereignty by the state of Canada and extraction industries.




The recent rail blockades are only the latest in a series of mass demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine, not only in the Mississauga area, but across the world. It would also seem as if the tactics of blockading are spreading, as multiple cities on various coasts have signaled they are ready to “Block the Boat,” in an effort to blockade Israeli goods from being imported into the US. Already in Oakland, California, where mass demonstrations in 2014 blocked a similar boat, just the threat of repeat blockades has prevented the “Israeli-operated ZIM cargo ship from docking” for 10 days. Port workers with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have also issued statements in solidarity with “Palestine and Palestinian communities across the world.”