Over the weekend, a ship for the Israeli company Zim was scheduled to dock and unload at the Port of Oakland. It never showed.

The ship’s absence was a result of the Block the Boat effort, a Bay Area initiative in accordance with the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). The no-show comes two months after activists prevented another Zim ship from unloading for four days, and in the interim, Block the Boat has spread to other US cities.

Kumars Salehi spoke with Lara Kiswani, the head of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and one of the key organizers behind Block the Boat about direct action, worker solidarity, and the future of BDS.