By Ken Epstein

A growing coalition, the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo, has gained broad support in the Bay Area as it organizes to demand to end FedEx shipments of military equipment to Israel through the Oakland International Airport (OAK).

Especially significant, according to the coalition, is the delivery of military hardware to Israel for the U.S. F-35 fighter jet, which has been used to drop 2,000-pound bombs on civilians in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

In an interview with the Oakland Post, Rami Abdelkarim, a spokesperson for the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo and a member of the Bay Area chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), discussed the goals and the organizing work of the coalition, which has expanded rapidly since it began in August 2025.

Besides, PYM, other groups involved in organizing the coalition are the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

Backing the demand for an arms embargo are 150 local businesses and over 300 local organizations, including the faith community as well as more than 20 labor unions and the Alameda Labor Council, which unanimously endorsed the campaign.

Support for the demand has also come from Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, Port Commissioner Alvina Wong and Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas.

Abdelkarim said the coalition has been tracking “how our roads, our airports, and our infrastructure are being used to facilitate the Israeli military’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people, and not just the Palestinian people, but also in Lebanon and Iran.”

“We were able to uncover what is Oakland’s complicity in this genocide, and what it looks like for our tax dollars to serve the Israeli military,” he said.

The coalition’s findings were published in a 15-page report on the website of the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo (armsembargonow.com), titled “Exposing Oakland Airport’s Military Cargo Shipments to Israel.”

“Since January 2025, at least 280 military cargo shipments to Israel have been identified departing from OAK, with Nevatim Airbase being the primary final destination,” the report said.

The shipments have occurred multiple times per week for nearly the whole year, “including F-35 fighter jet components used to carry and release munitions, guide weapons, power surveillance and targeting systems, and support critical flight operations—all essential to sustaining the combat readiness of Israel’s Air Force,” according to the report.

“The frequency of these shipments, particularly when compared to other U.S. airports, positions OAK as one of the few consistently active logistical nodes in the U.S. military supply chain to Nevatim Airbase (in Israel),” the report said.

According to the report, a sample of 500 shipments to Israel transported through FedEx’s Global Superhub in Memphis, Tennessee, between April and June 2025, OAK was the second-most frequent transit point nationwide, after Fort Worth, Texas.

Among the items that were shipped were “bomb release units, weapons bay adapters, surveillance sensors, and flight-critical electronics … “the mechanisms that enable the F-35 to fly its bombing missions and to identify, target, and strike with lethal accuracy.”

These components were supplied or contracted through Lockheed Martin and “have been used extensively by the Israeli Air Force in bombing campaigns in Gaza, including the airstrike on Al-Mawasi in July 2024, during which Israel dropped three 2,000-pound bombs on a designated humanitarian safe zone—killing at least 90 people.”

In a section of the report on the F‑35 Lightning II fighter jet, the airplane is described as “a highly advanced combat aircraft utilized in Israel’s bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza.”

“The F‑35 can carry up to 18,000 pounds of munitions—including 2,000-pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs—and uses advanced sensor systems to identify targets, guide bombs, and conduct precision attacks,” the report said.

“These shipments typically arrive at OAK’s FedEx cargo facility between Monday and Friday and are consolidated into outbound freight flights routed through hubs in other states. The flights identified in the report “used for these transfers are civilian-operated cargo planes, not military aircraft. While they do not carry passengers, these FedEx Express flights operate out of a commercial airport shared with public air traffic, serving the broader Bay Area.”

“This means that military cargo destined for the Israeli Air Force is routinely shipped through infrastructure embedded in densely populated civilian areas,” with data showing that “shipments departed OAK on multiple days every week.”

FedEx has strongly denied allegations that it transports military supplies.

A FedEx spokesperson stated, “FedEx is committed to complying with applicable laws and regulations. We do not ship weapons or ammunition internationally and have put in place strict screening procedures to prevent such shipments.”

International Amnesty International and European civil society groups have filed a criminal complaint against FedEx Belgium, alleging the unauthorized transit of F-35 fight jet parts without required regional licenses. Further, the Jewish anti-Zionist group France Action has filed a genocide claim against FedEx in France over cargo transporting through Paris.

In a statement released in February, Mayor Lee said, “As you know, for decades, I have been opposed to the use of public property to militarize arms shipments, federal immigration enforcement, and public safety, whether it is in Oakland or anywhere else,” she said. “Thus, I share your concerns about weapons and military cargo being shipped through the Oakland International Airport.”

Congresswoman Simon in September 2025, announced she is supporting a federal bill, the “Block the Bombs Act,” to withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel and demanding Israel’s compliance with U.S. and international law.

“I come to Congress from a lineage of folks who know that war does not make us stronger, from a lineage of Ron Dellums and Barbara Lee, who were very clear that we as a nation cannot kill and slaughter our way to peace, that we cannot fund the machinery of death, and that safety is found in care – and not conquest.”

By Tanya Dennis

Alameda County elders are urged to attend the Elder Justice Symposium at Oakland City Hall on Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for information that could profoundly affect both their health care and the legacy they hope to leave their families.

For many older adults, a lifetime of hard work has produced two things they understandably want to protect: access to health care while they are living and the home, savings, and other assets they hope to pass to loved ones when they die.

Changes already underway in California make understanding how to protect both increasingly urgent.

The first threat involves Medi-Cal.

Federal changes enacted under H.R. 1 are bringing new eligibility, reporting, and coverage rules beginning in 2027. Although Californians age 65 and older and people with disabilities are exempt from the new 80-hour-per-month work requirement and will continue with annual rather than six-month renewals, that does not mean elders can ignore the coming changes.

California has already reinstated an asset test for certain Medi-Cal recipients age 65 and older, people with disabilities and those needing long-term care. Assets must be reported when applying or renewing coverage.

And another significant change is coming.

Beginning July 1, 2027, California says the Medi-Cal asset limit for affected beneficiaries will fall from $130,000 for one person to just $21,000, and to $31,000 for two people, with certain assets excluded and special rules applying in some circumstances.

There is more. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Medi-Cal’s retroactive coverage period will also shrink. For most beneficiaries outside the ACA expansion adult group, coverage of qualifying medical expenses incurred before application will be reduced from three months to two.

For an elder facing hospitalization, long-term care or an unexpected medical crisis, misunderstanding these rules could have enormous financial consequences.

The second threat concerns what happens to everything you worked so hard to acquire.

Many people believe, “I have a will and a living trust, so my family is protected.”

It may not be that simple.

An estate plan is only as effective as the way it has been structured, maintained and implemented. How assets are titled, whether a trust has actually been funded, beneficiary designations, Medi-Cal eligibility and long-term-care planning can all affect whether a person’s wishes are ultimately carried out.

A will by itself does not automatically avoid probate, and simply possessing trust documents does not mean every asset has been properly protected or positioned to pass as intended.

That is why elders should learn the rules before a medical crisis, incapacity or death makes planning far more difficult.

At the Elder Justice Symposium, experts will explain these changes in understandable language and discuss steps that elders and their families should consider now.

Attendees will have an opportunity to learn what questions to ask about Medi-Cal eligibility and renewals, asset limits, estate planning and protecting the legacy they intend for their families.

Do not assume the rules you learned years ago are still the rules governing you today.

Come to Oakland City Hall on Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bring your questions. Bring your family. Most importantly, bring a willingness to prepare.

The decisions you make before these changes take full effect could profoundly affect your health care, your financial security, and what remains for the people you love.

By Barbara Bauer, Special to The Post

Floating bubbles greeted families on arrival at the Bookout Block Party held on Sat. Sept. 12 at 39th and MLK Blvd. in Oakland.

Sponsored by Marcus Books and Storyland Collective, a wonderland of activity for children stretched to Longfellow School while live music filled the air, courtesy of KWC Complex Jazz Group.

Booths lined the street with arts and crafts, and children participated in hands-on art projects. A large display of books was on display and each child chose his/her free book to take home. Food and snacks were available, and free water was encouraged to keep all hydrated.

A large area of turf was filled with huge bean bags for jumping, rolling, and sitting to listen as families crowded close to listen to Oakland Mayor Barbara Mayor Barbara Lee read a book out loud.

Of the numerous booths present were, “Claim Your Scholarship,” a program for Oakland Public School students and “VOLUNTEER NOW,” a program encouraging volunteers to help boost reading proficiency. Individuals sold their art and products. Free gifts were at many tables and a raffle was held.

The event with Marcus books culminated a summer-long program organized by Storyland Collective, a literacy arts organization bringing children’s ‘storytime,’ local authors, and art activities to Bay Area neighborhoods. Marcus Books is the oldest, independent Black-owned book store in the U.S., featuring books by and about Black people here and abroad.

By Post Staff

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 25 states, filed an amicus brief in the Court of International Trade in Learning Resources v. Trump, a case challenging President Trump’s latest “unlawful” attempt to tax the states and American consumers through illegal tariffs, according to a media release issued by the California Department of Justice.

In the brief, Bonta argues the latest round of tariffs levied under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 are pretextual and are not targeted to address the purported harms of forced labor, as that statute requires, but instead are designed to re-create the tariffs already declared illegal by various courts.

Last month, Bonta and the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to impose these tariffs on over 80 countries that together account for 99.4% of all U.S. imports — costs that will be passed along to Americans already struggling with affordability.

“President Trump is so intent on raising the cost of living for Americans that he is willing to break law after law to continue his tariff regime,” said Bonta.

“Imposing these tariffs under Section 301 has nothing to do with forced labor and everything to do with continuing the President’s failed economic policy and reimposing the global tariffs that the Supreme Court invalidated,” he continued.

“We urge the Court of International Trade to declare the president’s tariffs under Section 301 illegal. Tariffs are taxes, and the American people cannot and should not shoulder the extra costs that come from the president’s illegal tariffs.” 

By Tanya Dennis

Zakiya Jendayi received good news Monday, Sept. 14, when the appellate court ruled in her favor in the Hamlin v. Jendayi case, agreeing to hear the case on its merits regarding her motion to have Judge Sandra K. Bean’s ruling invalidated based upon Laura Dean Head’s living trust.

The bad news is that, at the time of this writing, the Sheriff’s Department was scheduled to evict Jendayi from her home yesterday.

“Friends and Neighbors of Zakiya,” a community group of more than 60 neighbors, friends and community activists, is standing strong with Jendayi. The group holds weekly vigils every Tuesday from 6 p.m.-7p.m. at Jendayi’s residence at 3614 Randolph Ave. in Oakland.

The group is asking the community to join them and to make calls to Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and DA Ursula Jones Dickson to stop what they deem the illegal eviction of Jendayi from her home of 13 years.

“I would hope that the Sheriff listens because, unlike the courts, my friends and neighbors have read the transcripts and seen for themselves the 42 findings that result in 35 false, six misleading, and one that is an error, which unbelievably the appeals court upheld.” says Jendayi.  “With this new appeal, the court quite possibly will return my home to me, and so this makes no sense. The Sheriff is threatening to move forward to remove me before my appeal is heard.” 

“This makes no sense,” says group member Rev. Raymond Langford. “She’s not a criminal, and she’s never had a criminal record. This situation has been horribly impactful on her physical and mental health. She’s now medically compromised due to all this stress, and all we’re asking for is time to see if the courts are in error. She should be given the opportunity for the appeal to be heard. That’s called justice, nothing more, nothing less.”.

Friends and Neighbors of Zakiya are organizing future protest actions to secure more time for Jendayi. They will be seen in front of the offices of Bonta, Simon and Sanchez, demanding that she have the opportunity for her case to be heard.

The Post is asking that the public join Friends and Neighbors of Zakiya and use the information listed to join in this fight for justice.

Friends and Neighbors of Zakiya asks you to sign the petition by activating the QR code below to enact a stay in Jendayi’s pending eviction from her home and to pursue a full and independent investigation into the ruling that invalidated Dr. Head’s trust.

By Rebecca Kaplan Special to The Post

On Tuesday, the City of Oakland launched Aerbits, an innovative new program that deploys AI-assisted aerial imaging technology to proactively detect and report abandoned trash on streets and sidewalks – to support timely and effective removal of illegal dumping.

By shifting from a reactive, complaint-based system to data-driven proactive detection, the City can deploy cleanup resources faster, more efficiently, and more equitably to the areas in greatest need. 

Approved by both the Privacy Advisory Commission and the Oakland City Council, Aerbits is the latest addition to Oakland’s comprehensive strategy to eliminate illegal dumping from the Town.

“Oakland residents and businesses deserve clean streets and today we are one step closer to a safer, cleaner, and greener Oakland,” said Mayor Barbara Lee. “Our strategy strengthens eradication, education, and enforcement efforts across every neighborhood.

“Aerbits, which was approved by the Privacy Advisory Commission, uses modern technology and best practices to help our crews clear trash faster and more efficiently, while our targeted outreach and enforcement strategies address the root causes of dumping. Together, we are going to get the job done.”

The impacts of illegal dumping on Oakland are profound, disproportionately burdening historically disinvested communities while threatening public health, safety, and economic vitality.

The City is united in taking action to remedy it – with the mayor, Council, administration, Public Works Department, community groups and more coming together to make change.

In May, the City Council approved the Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan, which approves and funds multiple actions – including Aerbits – to help remedy illegal dumping.

This past June, Oakland secured $9.2 million from the Crankstart Foundation to scale up operations like Aerbits and break the cycle of illegal dumping across Oakland.

The Aerbits aerial imaging system photographs public rights-of-way to pinpoint exact locations, estimate waste volumes, and classify types of debris. This enables City dispatchers to understand the problem and efficiently deploy the appropriate crew and equipment to each site.

Built with privacy at its core, the technology contains no facial recognition, no license plate readers, and uses no personally identifying information. Aerbits takes pictures of trash – not of people.

“I founded Aerbits because I saw a major gap in the data that was available to City crews on the streets, and I wanted our children to have a cleaner environment” said Aerbits Founder Brian Johnson.

“Aerbits enables cleanups to be timelier, more effective, and more equitable. By providing real-time comprehensive data, automating the creation of work orders, and improving closure of cleared tickets, we are removing the problems that occur when relying primarily on a complaint-based system,” he said.

Aerbits is the latest milestone in the series of actions the City is taking to implement the City Council-approved Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan. Recent actions taken by the City include:

• Stricter Enforcement: Enacted a new Illegal Dumping Enforcement Ordinance increasing penalties and holding vehicle owners responsible; hired additional Environmental Enforcement Officers equipped with updated citation technology; and worked alongside State Senator Jesse Arreguin on legislation that allows the City to boot vehicles tied to repeat dumping offences. 
• Community Resources: Reinstated the popular “Bulky Block Parties” offering residents free, convenient ways to get rid of bulky waste, alongside expanded public education campaigns.  
• Expanded Fleet Equipment: Obtained new heavy-duty Lightning Loader trucks that allow us to clean up more volumes of debris faster than ever before. 

Rebecca Kaplan is a former City Councilmember-at-large for the City of Oakland.