“Stop the World For Gaza”: Thousands Take Part in Direct Actions and Blockades Against the War

Thousands took part in mass direct actions and blockades on Monday, in protest of the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing within the occupied Palestinian territories by the state of Israel and supported directly by the United States. The demonstrations take place against a backdrop of rising public support for a ceasefire and also represented a dramatic turn toward direct action and more autonomous, horizontal organizing efforts and away from simply symbolic mass marches and demonstrations.

As the A15 Actions account wrote:

Over 65 cities, 19 countries and six continents took collective risk for a liberated Palestine. This is just the beginning. Activists across the globe carried out large-scale actions Monday as part of A15, a coordinated economic blockade in solidarity with Palestine.

U.S. organizers blockaded factories and corporate offices of weapons manufacturers, including the Boeing plant in St. Charles, Missouri; Pratt & Whitney in Middletown, Connecticut; and the Lockheed Martin building in Arlington, Virginia.

Protesters took over major roads in Philadelphia and Oakland, while others rallied in front of government buildings and cultural sites. In San Francisco, activists shut down both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge in a major disruption to traffic in the Bay Area.

Activists in New York marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and rallied on both the Brooklyn and Manhattan sides of the iconic bridge. Dozens of people were arrested in the peaceful action, including reporters covering the protest.

Across multiple cities, police made hundreds of arrests and in Fremont, shot off projectile weapons in an attempt to stop demonstrators from blockading a Telsa factory, while in Montreal, protesters were attacked by teargas and batons. Just as they did under Trump, Republican bureaucrats like Tom Cotton called for far-Right vigilante violence against demonstrators stating, “I would encourage most people anywhere that gets stuck behind criminals like this who are trying to block traffic to take matters into their own hands [and] put an end to this nonsense.” In the face of the success of the A15 actions, many pundits on the Right and neo-liberal Center have also started a fear mongering campaign about the movement using “escalated tactics,” while student organizers continue to face expulsions, evictions, and repression.

Via @ColumbiaSJP

But the movement in solidarity with Palestine has been defined by elite forces attempting to falsely brand it as “pro-Hamas” or “anti-Semitic.” But far from the movement getting smaller, it has instead grown in size and popularity. Speaking to this reality, on April 17th, an encampment of “hundreds of students” at Columbia university was erected, with the organizers writing on social media:

As of 4 AM this morning, Columbia University students have occupied the center of campus, launching our Gaza Solidarity Encampment. We demand divestment and an end to Columbia’s complicity in genocide.

As of this writing the occupation remains ongoing, with students marching in a solidarity picket around the encampment in the face of the marshaling of the NYPD. Workers at Google have also launched sit-ins against their company’s involvement in Israeli apartheid. and students at Georgia State University protested the GILEE program, which networks US based law enforcement with IDF forces and trains them in counter-insurgency techniques.

Via @NoTechApartheid

Check out our roundup of actions on April 15th below and follow A15 Actions here. To contribute to the A15 bail fund, go here.

Pacific Northwest

Via @stopthesweeps_eugene

Eugene, OR: “In Eugene, Oregon, protesters blocked Interstate 5, shutting down traffic on the major highway for about 45 minutes.” A noise demo followed in support of those who were arrested by police. According to a post on Instagram:

Today Eugene shut down I5 for over an hour in solidarity with the international A15 day of action for a free Palestine!

We know that the US government is complicit in this genocide. We know the US will not stop this genocide, and so we have to stop it ourselves. We are done being passive agents and know that it is time to escalate our actions to participate in a global resistance movement for a free Palestine! Israel is the right arm of the United States imperialist war machine. What we are seeing in Palestine now is the same violent, genocidal land theft that has been carried out on indigenous people all over the world since the dawn of colonization. We will no longer be complicit.

Over 50 people were arrested and 8 cars impounded. Please donate to our car impound fund:

@freethecars
@eugenebailfund

Via @a15actions

Hillsboro, OR: According to a post on Instagram:

Today with the organization of Portland DSA and the national @a15actions, comrades blocked two entrances to Intel’s Ronler Acres campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. We denounce our representatives and local businesses support of Zionist connections to Israel that continue to provide technology that assists in the genocide, destruction, displacement, starvation and ecocide of Palestinians. Intel has blood on their hands and we’re here to remind Intel, their employees, the community, our elected officials and the world that we refuse to accept Intels continued profiting from mass murder.

Zionists showed up burning Quran. Another drove into protestors with his truck. The Hillsboro police department let him drive off after 7+squad cars arrived within moments of the incident. The police told is to come into the station if we wanted to file a complaint. A reminder that cops support corporations and capitalism, not tax paying citizens.

Via @treesittersunion

Wolf Creek, OR: A tree-sit resisting the logging of old-growth forest posted a statement in solidarity with the A15 blockades, writing:

State agencies such as the BLM selling corporations permission to extract profits from this land is a form of colonial violence. We view the actions we’re taking here to stop extractive industry and challenge the political and economic structures that enable it as one very small piece of a broader struggle against colonization and state violence. We won’t stand aside while corporations render our planet inhabitable and are here to prevent industrial logging of this forest, but we aren’t here to dictate what the forest “should be” or advocate for more “nature reserves” – we’re after something much more liberatory. We’re here in solidarity with resistance against the genocidal dystopia those in power have been creating over the last 500 years – from the movement to stop cop city to Palestinian resistance fighters defending their right to be in their lands.

Traffic backs up at SeaTac Airport in Seattle. Source: @A15Actions

Seattle, WA: Almost 50 people were arrested after protesters blocked the road into SeaTac airport for several hours. According to a post on Instagram about the action:

Seattle protestors have blocked the roadway to Seattle Tacoma International Airport to demand the US stops arming Israel.

For months, representatives have ignored the overwhelming calls for a permanent ceasefire made by Americans across the political spectrum, instead continuing to approve aid packages that use billions of taxpayer dollars to arm Israel. They have ignored international law and court rulings, instead offering complete impunity to Israel as it blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza while targetting hospitals, journalists, and thousands of innocent civilians. All while American people are deprived of housing, healthcare, and other basic needs that could be met with these U.S. resources.

Alaska Airlines flights represents over half of passenger flights into and out of SeaTac – in addition to contracting with Boeing, who manufactures weapons used in Israel’s deplorable and unlawful attacks on Palestinian civilians, Alaska Airlines supports Israel through partnership with EL AL Israel Airlines.

Seattle will not be complicit in genocide!

Pacific

San Francisco, CA: Protesters blockaded and shut down the ironic Golden Gate Bridge. As the SF Chronicle reported, “On the Golden Gate Bridge, protesters chained themselves to parked cars to block vehicles from traveling across the famous span and held a banner that read: “Stop the world for Gaza.”’

Via @a15actions

Oakland, CA: On the other side of the bay, protesters marched and also shut down the I-880 in both directions. As the SF Chronicle reported, “The protests broke out early in the morning, Interstate 880 was blocked in Oakland in both directions and some protesters chained themselves to concrete-filled barrels.” The disruptions on the freeway also included blockades into the Port of Oakland, where a representative from an association of tuckers at the port reported to a local Fox News affiliate that workers were honoring the pickets and that all port terminals had been shut down for the day.

A report posted to Instagram stated:

Thousands of people across Oakland, California blocked the flow of capital along the regions largest commercial interstate (I-880) in solidarity with the people of Palestine. On northbound 880, beginning at 6am, seven protestor locked themselves into six barrels of concrete weighing 280 Ibs each, welded at the top. Because of the difficulty for law enforcement to drill through, it is expected northbound will by shut for several hours.

I-880 serves as the region’s primary corridor for commercial freight, seeing millions of dollars in goods moved everyday. The highway connects the Port of Oakland, the Oakland Airport, and the West Oakland railyards, and is a choke point at which protesters blockaded a part of the US economy for its complicity in genocide.

Interstate 880, running from San Jose to the Macarthur Maze in Oakland serves as the Bay Area’s major corridor for freight traffic, with trucks weighing more than 9,000 pounds prohibited from accessing I-580 through Oakland. This funneling of commercial traffic through historically working class, Black and Latinx neighborhoods creates an uneven environmental hazard for those along its route, but it also provides a unique target for a strategic economic blockade.

In halting traffic along this route we seek to stop the movement of millions of dollars in daily capital flow, much of which, headed to and from the Port of Oakland, the Oakland Airport, and the nearby rail yards directly and indirectly supports the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Global capital is complicit in the war crimes occurring daily against Palestinians, and it also hurts us here at home. Increased cases of respiratory ailments and cancer are but some of the signs of this uneven devastation at home in Oakland. The genocide in Gaza is the horrible cost visited upon our comrades and brothers and sisters abroad. We are shutting down 880 to disrupt the global flow of capital that causes so much destruction across the world. We are shutting down 880 in support of a liberated Palestine.

Photo of sabotaged parking meters in Oakland. Source: @A15Actions

Oakland, CA: A communique also posted to social media also claimed responsibility for sabotaging “60 parking meters…in Downtown Oakland…” The report read:

Submitted anonymously: Autonomous #A15 activists made about 60 parking meters unusable in Downtown Oakland and around Lake Merritt, drawing connections of state violence from the Bay to Palestine.

Along with jamming up the card readers and coin slots, they posted stickers saying, “Parking tickets are a war tactic the state uses to attack the working class. From Oakland to Palestine: WE WILL FIGHT BACK!”

Parking fees and tickets put poor and working class people in a choke hold and restrict our right to mobility. In some cases, if parking tickets aren’t paid within two months, the price increases to nearly $200. If you want to get on a payment plan in Oakland, you have to PAY to get on the payment plan. If you have unpaid parking tickets, there is NO WAY to register your car without paying them, which then puts you at risk of getting more tickets and your car impounded.

The state deploys and funds endless, violent control tactics using our tax dollars. Some seemingly small and unassuming like endless fees & tickets, and some bigger, more visibly evil like building bombs. Regardless of their tactics, we will no longer tolerate the state stealing money from working class people to fund war here and abroad!!

From Oakland to Palestine to Congo to Sudan to Ethiopia to all oppressed people everywhere: WE WILL FIGHT BACK!

Rally for Palestinian liberation in Fremont, California. Source: @A15Actions

Fremont, CA: Hundreds marched in the South Bay city of Fremont, shutting down a Telsa plant. According to KTVU, “Police have deployed pepper balls on Pro-Palestinian demonstrators participating in a ‘Blockade the Bay’ Day of Action outside the Fremont Tesla plant, on Monday evening.” Despite the police violence, demonstrators claimed victory in shutting down the facility for the day.

A report on social media reported:

Long Beach, CA: Demonstrators shut down the 710 freeway in Long Beach. A report posted to social media stated:

Central

San Antonio, TX: As Al Jazeera reported, “In San Antonio, protesters holding Palestinian flags obstructed both sides of the Valero Energy Company headquarters, causing traffic congestion on the city’s northwest side.” A report posted to social media wrote:

For almost 6 months we have watched a genocide being enacted upon upon our Indigenous Palestinian siblings. We have witnessed unfathomable acts of cruelty and the martyrdom of children through our phones daily. We have sobbed alongside our siblings as they have cried out with soul tearing screams at the loss of their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, at the occupation of their land, at the destruction of their sacred spaces. It is within our power collectively to stop this genocide. And more importantly, collectively, it’s our responsibility to do so.

Why we chose target: A15 is a coordinated strike against the economy. Valero was chosen for it’s significant economic contributions to San Antonio, TX. However Valero has blood soaked hands and is deeply entagled with Israel making them an additional reason we chose them as target.

Valero Energy Corporation has been chosen locally because it is the main supplier of military-grade jet fuel (JP-8) to the Israeli military. Between 2020-2024, the company has sent a JP-8 tanker every other month from its Bill Greehey refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Israel. Its kerosene-based jet propulsion fuel called JP-8 powers Israel’s AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, its F-15 and F-16 fighter/bombers, as well as its Merkava tanks.

Midwest

Chicago, IL: According to CBS News, “In Chicago, protesters blocked a main access road to O’Hare International Airport for more than an hour…” A report posted to social media wrote:

​​​​On MONDAY 40 Chicagoans were arrested after blocking the entrance to O’Hare International Airport for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Most individuals were detained for at least 12 hours, and some up 18 hours. The significance of the site of action cannot be ignored, for the role that both Boeing and the U.S. government play in the genocide of Palestinians.

Via @stopweaponsmn

Maple Grove, MN: Outside of Minneapolis, demonstrators blockaded a Amazon facility. A report posted to social media wrote:

Early Monday morning several coordinated actions convened to stop operations at the Amazon shipping facility in Maple Grove, Minnesota as part of the international #a15actions coordinated economic blockade for a Free Palestine.

One autonomous group erected a blockade of the semi-truck exit, while a car caravan and picketers stopped all sprinter vans from leaving the facility with shipments. In the lot a group rallied and danced dabkeh, a traditional Palestinian dance. Outside of the facility another group gathered to chant and sing for the liberation of Palestine. More than one hundred shipping vehicles were delayed during this two hour blockade.

Amazon is deeply complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Last year, Amazon Web Services launched AWS Israel, committing to invest $7.2B in data and computing technology in Israel, much of which will support state and military operations. In a recent op-ed Amazon workers condemned the company’s support for Israel saying, “this technology allows for further surveillance of and unlawful data collection on Palestinians, and facilitates expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements on Palestinian land.”

As photos roll in from around the world of people shutting it down for Palestine, Minnesota is more convinced than ever that From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!

Via @stopweaponsmn

St. Paul, MN: An anonymous claim of responsibility, first reported on by the Instagram account @stopweaponsmn, claimed credit for:

In the early hours of April 16th, a number of activists decided to remind Forward Edge ASIC to ‘Get a real job.’ They ask, ‘How many people did you murder at work today?’ ‘Why do your children matter more than theirs?’ And added ‘We think it’s really shitty you make microchips for bombs.’ Forward Edge ASIC, on Energy Park Drive in St Paul, is a research and development firm owned by Lockheed Martin that employs high-paid engineers and other white collar workers.

Via Abolition Media

Minneapolis, MN: A communique posted to Abolition Media claimed responsibility for smashing out windows to a Wells Fargo bank in Minneapolis and writing multiple graffiti slogans. From the communique:

In response to the A15 call for economic disruption, Anti-Colonial Action Brigade (ACAB) attacked a Wells Fargo branch in so-called ‘minneapolis’ (occupied Dakota lands) early morning Monday April 15.

We spraypainted “INTIFADA,” “FUCK 12,” “STOP COP CITY,” “DESTROY ZIONISM,” “Al-AQSA FLOOD,” “DEATH TO ‘israel,’” “DEATH TO amerika,” “AVENGE THE MARTYRS,” “FREE PALESTINE,” “FUCK COP CITY,” and smashed out six windows including the glass door.

Wells Fargo funds the genocide & colonization of Palestine through a $500 million loan to Elbit Systems, the zionist entity’s top drone manufacturer. In addition, a Wells Fargo executive sits on the board of the Atlanta Police Foundation, the parasites behind Cop City. We act in total solidarity with the movements resisting the carceral-colonial pig power structure in its various manifestations—whether a cop city in the Weelaunee Forest, or a euro-settler regime in Palestine.

Kansas City, MO: In Kansas City, a report posted to social media read:

Kansas City protestors disrupt construction of expanding Honeywell Nuclear Weapons facility! Dozens of citizens from @peaceworkskc , Midwest Catholic Workers, and @freepalestinekc took action in solidarity with the #A15 global call for Palestine.

Via @a15actions

St. Charles, MO: Right outside of St. Louis, demonstrators held a blockade outside of a Boeing facility. A post on social media reported:

Organizers in St. Louis today joined the global call of A15 Action to disrupt the portions of our economy and production that facilitate colonialism and genocide. Protesters returned to Boeing Manufacturing Plant 598 in St. Charles, Missouri for the third time, blocking 3 of the facility’s gates. Early Monday morning, 8 protesters locked themselves to several of the gates, preventing workers and shipments from entering for several hours. All were later arrested. The Boeing St. Charles facility is home of the Weapons Programs, producing Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and GBU-39 Small Diabeter bombs, which were reportedly put on rush delivery to Israel in early October.

Detroit, MI: WXYZ reports that police clamped down on a car caravan protest, writing:

Detroit police quickly moved into position to stop a convoy of pro-Palestinian supporters who were headed to the Ambassador Bridge in their vehicles Monday in what may have been an attempt to shut down traffic at the bridge to Canada.

Southeast

Charlotte, NC: Activists in Charlotte, NC held a protest and blockade of Northrop Grumman. According to a report on Unicorn Riot:

Early Monday morning, activists put paint and screws in the driveway to the Northrop Grumman parking lot in South Charlotte and attached bike locks to the gate to prevent personnel from entering the property.

Northrop Grumman is the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world. Synoptics, a subsidiary, is located at the South Charlotte facility. It manufactures laser materials and components. Investigate, a website from the American Friends Service Committee, reports that Northrop Grumman manufactures weapons used by the Israeli military against Palestinians.

Around 8 a.m., activists gathered outside of Northrup Grumman to protest the facility, holding a large banner reading “Northrop Grumman has blood on their hands,” and other pro-Palestine slogans. The local collective Charlotte Uprising posted video and photos on their Instagram page.

Northrup Grumman has not been alone in facing pro-Palestine protests. Activists in Philadelphia blocked weapons manufacturer Day & Zimmermann on March 28, where 120mm tank rounds for Merkava tanks employed by Israel’s occupation forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as 155mm artillery rounds are manufactured. They also protested near the Philadelphia headquarters office in a morning march on April 15.

Miami, FL: In Miami, demonstrators faced arrests while attempting to blockade the entrance to the Port of Miami. According to the Miami Herald: 

Police on Monday arrested seven people who they say were blocking the entrance to PortMiami while participating in a pro-Palestine protest in Downtown Miami. In Florida, however, obstructing the roadway is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine up to $1,000. Officials across the state have stressed the tactic is not an acceptable for of protest in Florida. The coalition said in a statement that the people arrested were “aggressively dragged and arrested by the police.”

Tampa, FL: Demonstrators in Tampa, FL organized street blockades. A report on social media wrote:

Tampa SHUT IT DOWN for Palestine yesterday! We were able to stop traffic, all the way down a major interstate. We will continue showing this city that we are sick and tired of funding this injustice. We are done being “too” nice. Disruption and revolting is our only answer. Don’t expect peace UNTIL we have peace. From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.

Orlando, FL: Demonstrators gathered in Orlando, FL. According to Luke From DC on social media:

Orlando did not sit out this wave of protests. Answering the call from the A15 global organizers, protesters gathered at the Post Office, calling for a refusal to pay taxes that fund this war and a total blockade of the US economy. One of the chants asked taxpayers “how many kids did you kill today.” A speaker explicitly called on people to refuse to pay taxes that fund US bomb deliveries to Israel and to refuse to participate in the economy funding the genocide.

Arlington, VA: According to posts on social media, “On the 15th of April, DC area activists descended on a Northern Virginia office of Lockheed-Martin and shut it down with a hard lockdown including lockboxes.”

Northeast

Philadelphia, PA: Demonstrators in Philadelphia organized blockades and marches across the city. According to Unicorn Riot, “The crowd marched to the offices of arms manufacturers Day & Zimmerman, who provides components for weapons being used by Israel against Gaza.” A report on social media wrote:

The demonstrations began at 8:15 a.m., when dozens of protesters disrupted rush hour traffic as they waved Palestinian flags during a teach-in. Simultaneously, another group led a funeral procession of cars up I-95, while a third marched near City Hall, stopping at various locations to call attention to connections between Philadelphia’s economy and Israel’s occupation in Gaza.

The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed that 67 people were arrested for obstruction of highway during the morning protests. Officers issued civil citations to 41 demonstrators, who were then released from custody, said Sgt. Eric Gripp, a department spokesperson.” Philly Inquierer: https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/protests-gaza-palestine-irs-building-university-city-20240415.html

“In Philadelphia, people across the city took part in #PhillyA15 coordinated actions aimed at disrupting the local economy and blockading major traffic routes on the East Coast to demand an end to the genocide and occupation in Palestine being carried out by the apartheid government of Israel. Key weapons manufacturer, Day & Zimmerman, and Philadelphia City Hall both went on lockdown as a result of these actions.

Over 50 people blockaded the major intersection at 30th Street and Schuylkill Avenue, effectively stopping traffic on 76 in both directions. Across town a coordinated funeral procession mourning the slaughter of more than 38,000 Palestinians—including over 14,000 children—slowed traffic on both 95 north and south bound to a near stop, while Philly Palestine Coalition took to the streets in center city with 200 people who walked out of work in solidarity with the worldwide, coordinated economic blockade #A15. Sixty-nine people were arrested.

The Philadelphia economy is complicit in this ongoing genocide. In 2023, $23,657,015 of Philadelphia’s tax dollars were sent to Israel. Philadelphia is also home to weapons manufacturers Day & Zimmerman, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, L3Harris, and Ghost Robotics who manufacture weapons of war that have been used by Israel.

It is within our collective power to stop this genocide. More importantly, it is our collective responsibility to do so. Find your humanity in the struggle! #PhillyA15 is everywhere, every day, until Palestine is Free! #a15forpalestine

Middletown, CT: Blockades to the entrance of the Pratt & Whitney factory in Middletown, CT took place. A report on social media stated:

Organizers from CT & NY have shut down the entrances to Pratt & Whitney factory in Middletown

This is in an effort to call out the companies complicity in arming the Israeli military during its assault on Gaza. This action is in solidarity with the A15 Action, a coordinated economic blockade in over 30 cities around the world.  Protestors are demanding that Pratt and Whitney end the company’s contract with Israel early, and begin the transition to a peace-based economy where the engines will not enable war and genocide.

Police have arrested 10 protestors so far. They can arrest us but they can’t arrest the movement, we will continue to #shutitdown for Palestine no matter what.

Elizabeth, NJ: Demonstrators organized a caravan was organized through the Port of New Jersey. A report posted to social media read:

As part of the @a15actions, early this morning in Elizabeth, NJ Port Workers For Peace with @nyclaborforpalestine and @palawda led a caravan of vehicles through the Port of New Jersey to denounce the Zim shipping company’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Zim CEO Eli Glickman has pledged that his ships will assist Israel’s campaign, even as it leads to mass starvation and the killing of over 17,000 children.

“Many port workers are horrified at what’s happening in Gaza,” said Chino May, one of the caravan organizers. “Our labor is being exploited to enrich corporations that uphold mass murder. But we make these companies go, so we can make them listen to us. The killing has to stop.”

The caravan received mostly honks of support and a few agitated truck drivers. Police flanked the lead car and the group, and at some points attempted to break the line of cars up by merging in between them. At one point the port authority police asked how long they would be there and if there were more coming, to which the police received one word answers and vague responses.

As we see global action taking place today across thousands of cities and economic choke points, the news will be flooded with Trump and Iran…don’t take your eye off the ball. This is focal point. All eyes on Gaza.

Brooklyn, NY: Protesters swarmed the Brooklyn bridge and faced arrests. According to CBS News: 

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters rushed onto the Brooklyn Bridge Monday afternoon. Police said 44 people were issued summonses for disorderly conduct, and four people face criminal charges for things like assault and resisting arrest.

Via @hv4freepalestine

Newburgh, NY: Demonstrators shut down the westbound entrance to the Hamilton Fish Newburgh Beacon Bridge. Organizers posted to social media, writing:

Tax Day is a reminder that the Biden administration has made over 100 transfers of taxpayer dollars in military assistance to Israel since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. We refuse to allow business as usual to continue while Palestinians are murdered by Israel using American weaponry and tax dollars. Those committed to Palestinian freedom in the Hudson Valley have tried many tactics—we’ve demonstrated, we’ve lobbied our representatives, Pat Ryan and Marc Molinaro, for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, we’ve visited their offices, we’ve educated the public. Those on the highway today are done waiting on congressional representatives. We are committed to keeping up the pressure until the genocide ends and Palestine is free.

Manhattan, NY: A communique took credit for sabotaging the offices of BNY Mellon, which “invests heavily in the weapons manufacturer Elbit…” From the anonymous report:

In the latest hours of Monday, April 15th, an autonomous group of actionists painted BNY Mellon as part of a worldwide day of action in solidarity with Palestine. BNY Mellon invests heavily in the weapons manufacturer Elbit, as well as allows their employees to directly donate to Friends of the IDF.

In the presence of security, the artists sprayed their message and disappeared into the night. The glass building at 240 Greenwich street appears cold, impermeable, and more solid than our best efforts could ever hope to disrupt. As the spirit of autonomous organizing continues to escalate around the world, many friend groups are pleasantly surprised to find that denting the machine of capitalism and the brutality of imperialism are both feasible and necessary.

Via @mxtaliajane

New York City, NY: A communique posted online to social media claimed responsibility for breaking out windows on “multiple Chase Bank locations.” From the communique:

Initiating the global call for an economic blockade on April 15, early in the morning of Sunday, April 14, an autonomous group of anti-capitalist/anti-imperialist anarchists targeted multiple Chase Bank locations for its investments in Elbit Systems and the zionist entity in large – Chase Bank is the 6th largest stockholder in the weapons manufacturer creating the tools of mass destruction for the genocide in Gaza.

Through concentrating efforts around Wall St., which WOL is marching on this Monday, we target those with the most blood money invested in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Actionists sprayed red blood paint on the front facade of the bank, spray-painted messages reading “FUNDS GENOCIDE”, “DROP ELBIT” and “FREE GAZA,” chained up the front doors to the bank and sealed them shut with spray foam.

Heeding the call for an economic blockade, actionists locked up the bank to block the money invested in death. Chase Bank is closed on Sundays, and by locking up the doors, actionists were able to close down the sole entrance to the bank. NYPD scrambled to take down the chains and foam to make the storefront palatable to its money hungry Wall Street patrons, but Chase Bank is still stained blood red.

Chase accumulates wealth from stealing from the oppressed, and uses that money to fund the killing of the colonized. NO TO WALL ST! and We say NO to stock exchange market, where people invest in genocide of Palestinians by investing their money in weapon manufacturers.

Canada

Vancouver, BC: In Vancouver, demonstrators rallied and blockaded the Deltaport. According to a report on social media:

We have blockaded Deltaport as a part of #A15ForPalestine #A15Action #A15ShutitDown and calling on dock workers to respect our picket line and join us in solidarity with Palestinian people.

Ottawa, ON: In Ottawa, a blockade was organized. According to a report on social media:

Local activists and community members united to completely block the building where the EDC (Export Development Canada), is housed. EDC is one of the Canadian institutions which plays a direct role in the genocide in Gaza through policies of trade and export of arms and military technology to the Zionist entity. EDC facilitates trade with Zionist companies responsible for the bombing and killing of our people.

Community members gathered to send a clear message: not on our watch! People of conscience refuse to stand by and allow institutions like EDC to promote Canada’s arms trade with the Zionist entity, including the trade of military and illegal settlement goods, and profit off the blood of our families in Gaza and all around the world.

This is only the start. We will continue to target these institutions guilty of genocide, and will not stop until our demands are met: an immediate two-way arms embargo, an end to all diplomatic and economic relations between Canada and the Zionist entity, and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners.

Hands off Gaza! Hands off Palestine!

Via @a15montreal

Montreal, QC: Demonstrators in Montreal faced state repression as a blockade attempted to shut down the Port of Montreal. From one report, “Protesters in Montreal were met with intense state suppression while supporting their comrades in the Port of Montreal today. Police attempted to block the streets as protesters tried to push past. At least one officer pointed a firearm loaded with less than lethal projectiles (likely teargas), which are not supposed to be aimed at people, at marchers on two occasions. At a different location, other protesters were violently met with teargas and baton beatings. Though injuries are reported, no arrests have been noted at the time.” A report on social media went on to state:

Early this morning, hundreds of protesters answered the A15 call to action by convening a large rally near the Port of Montreal at its Rue Viau entrance. The Montreal action was just one part of an autonomous coordinated effort across over 50 cities and 6 continents that began April 15. When protestors arrived at the Port, they were met by violent state repression. Over fifty police met the crowd with pepper spray and batons, resulting in several injuries. A second group of protestors successfully entered the Port to shut down its internal rail network by raising a Palestinian flag on the tracks. The Port was shut down for over an hour, backing up morning traffic on Rue Notre-Dame. All protestors left the action safely, with no arrests reported. Protestors say they are calling for an end to Canadian complicity in genocide, and that they will continue to take action and disrupt the economy until Palestine is free.

Via @a15actions

Rouyn-Noranda, QC: A lockdown was organized against “Glencore [which] profits from Israeli colonization and contributes to the violation of human rights in Palestine. This is why supply to the Horne Foundry is targeted today. Glencore is one of the world’s largest powers. It is a commodities trading company that controls a significant portion of the natural resources market: metals, minerals, oil and grains. The company is involved in the Israeli extraction and trading of metals and minerals… Additionally, the historical ties between Glencore and the State of Israel are rich and long-standing. Founder of Glencore, Marc Rich was crucial to Israel’s oil supply after the 1973 war. His oil trade with Israel became a lifeline for the young.

Halifax, NS: Demonstrators faced arrests by police after carrying out various blockades. From a report on social media:

This morning comrades blockaded Hollis Street and Terminal to block traffic to the port where ZIM International has an office. 19 comrades were violently arrested by Halifax Regional Police and taken to the station on Gottingen St.

The Canadian economy is complicit in this genocide. As a port city, weapons and components leave the Halifax harbour for Israel regularly. Today Nova Scotians answered the call to block the arteries of capitalism, colonialism and #SHUTITDOWN