Norwegian Port Union Boycotts Israeli Ships

By Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies – June 13, 2010

Responding to calls by the Palestinian Workers Union and other calls by different workers unions and organizations around the world, the Norwegian Ports Union decided to join its Swedish counterpart in boycotting all Israeli ships starting on June 15.

The workers will not be loading or unloading Israeli ships docking in their ports.  The decision came coherent with the stances of ports workers, while polls in Norway revealed that nearly half of the Norwegians support this act.

The Port Workers Union in Norway said that the boycott would be for two weeks, while the Swedish boycott would continue until June 24.

The Palestinian Workers Union voiced appeals to Arab, regional and international workers union to take serious stances against the Israeli violations, and its deadly attack against the Freedom Flotilla leading to dozens of casualties among nonviolent international activists transporting aid supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, workers unions in South Africa, which is an affiliate with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), also joined the calls for boycotting Israel but, so far, did not declare an actual boycott of Israel.

Workers Unions in Palestine welcomed the stances of Norwegian, Swedish, Greek, British, Canadian and South African unions in denouncing the Israeli attack against the Palestinians and the activists, and the ongoing illegal Israeli siege on Gaza.