By Otis Grotewohl 
April 22, 2025

In a courageous act of solidarity with the Palestinian people, a Moroccan port workers’ union called on its members to boycott a ship suspected of transporting F-35 fighter jet components to Israel. On April 14, the Union of Port Workers, an affiliate of the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT), called on its members at the Port of Casablanca to refuse to unload or service the Nexoe Maersk, a Danish vessel that was scheduled to dock on April 18.

Morocco operates as a monarchy and is heavily influenced by the United States. Moroccan unions are restricted, and the call made by the port workers’ union is the boldest action made by any union in Morocco since Israel escalated the genocidal war against Gaza, after the Al-Aqsa Flood rebellion of October 7, 2023.

“Anyone facilitating this ship’s passage is, without question, a direct accomplice in the genocidal war against the Palestinian people,” the union statement declared. The union, along with other pro-Palestinian liberation activists in Morrocco, urged dockworkers in Spain and Turkey, where the ships may seek permission to dock, to also carry out similar boycotts and collective actions. (The New Arab, April 15)

Dockworkers affiliated with the left-wing General Confederation of Labor (CGT) in Fos-sur-Mer, France, also refused to provide essential port services to the Nexoe Maersk ship and delayed its docking, just days before sailing to Morocco. Members of the Swedish Dockworkers Union (SDU) and U.S.-based International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 have also carried out militant labor actions in defense of Palestine.

Pro-Palestinian protests erupt throughout Morocco

In addition to the call made by the Moroccan port workers’ union, there have been other demonstrations throughout Morocco condemning the continuous genocide in Gaza. There was a joint edict issued by several religious groups, including scholars associated with Morocco’s Islamist movement Al-Adl Wal Ihssan, forbidding the docking of the Nexoe Maersk ship. It stated that docking or servicing the ship would be “a grave betrayal of the Muslim community.” (People’s Dispatch, April 17)

Protests for Palestine have taken place in the Moroccan cities of Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier over the last several weeks. Moroccan Palestinian rights activists called for a rally at the Port of Casablanca, where the Maersk ship was scheduled to be docked on April 18. Wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, dozens of protesters were met with armed police in riot gear. According to reports, the police blocked the protesters from reaching the port, although some protesters bravely attempted to push their way through the barricades.

Unity between trade unionists and Palestinian rights activists is a threat to the imperialist U.S. and its racist client state of Israel. The working class and oppressed peoples have the power to push back against the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and contribute to the growing resistance.