Hundreds of activists and union workers successfully prevented a container ship owned by an Israeli company from docking and unloading its cargo in Oakland, California, earlier this month in protest of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Then on June 9, people in Vancouver, Canada, gathered to stop the same ship. These and other “Block the Boat” actions have taken place across North America as part of an effort to put economic pressure on Israel to stop human rights abuses against Palestinians. Last month, similar protests took place in Italy and South Africa.