ZIM Integrated Shipping services, Israel’s largest cargo shipping company, has decided to stop delivering its cargo to the Port of Long Beach. Zim would not explain the reason for the decision; one employee told the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles that the cut-off is “not a long-term thing.”
The Israeli company’s decision follows a campaign of picketing by anti-Israel activists at ports in Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver and Tampa Bay in recent months.
The Arab Resource and Organizing Center, which organized the campaign, called Block the Boat, succeeded in stopping Israeli cargo ships from delivering in Oakland in August and September, according to the Times of Israel.
Lee Peterson, speaking for the Port of Long Beach, told JTA that Zim had temporarily terminated its deliveries in Long Beach. He added, “I’m not sure how long they will be in this mode.” He acknowledged that there had been “some protests” during the summer of 2014, usually on Saturdays, but concluded, “At the time, it did not affect the longshore workers and operations continued.”
ZIM Integrated is the 10th largest global container shipping company in the world.