This piece was originally published at Shift Press, a youth-centered publication that provides news and journalism training, encouraging Houston youth toward civic engagement.
On July 4, 2025, the people of Gaza experienced another round of relentless hellfire from occupation fighter jets. In just 24 hours, Israel murdered 138 Palestinians, half of whom were killed waiting for food and water under the U.S./Israeli-induced famine. Massacres like this are not unfamiliar to the Palestinian people, nor the movement supporting them. Neither is the grief that accompanies such atrocities, too large to be contained to Gaza's 365 square kilometers. It is a kind of grief and anger that cannot be summed up by memoirs or homage. It is one that requires political reckoning and, most importantly, intervention. As we witnessed the inaction from our local government, we knew that this intervention would have to come from us, the people of Houston.
That same July 4, weathering Houston's 100-degree summer heat, a group of organizers climbed the hills of Eleanor Tinsley Park. Weaving through blankets, lawn chairs, and families staking out spots for Houston's annual fireworks show, we distributed hundreds of flyers on the role this city played in facilitating the genocide in Gaza. We closed the day with the unfurling of a banner which read: "THE U.S. AND ISRAEL ARE STARVING GAZA." We weren't sure what to expect. The slow erasure of Palestine from the news cycle would make us believe that people had become apathetic, even antagonistic, to our cause. To our surprise, we were met with 'Free, Free Palestine' chants so loud that they broke through the noise of the fireworks show.
In that moment we learned that Houstonians were ready for something different. That our city, whose streets once carried the weight of 25,000+ people marching in unison for Gaza, was far ahead of the local political elite on the question of Palestinian liberation. This small, powerful moment last July became the genesis of the Houston Arms Embargo campaign.
Why Houston Arms Embargo? Why Houston?
In 2024, the Palestinian Youth Movement's Mask Off Maersk campaign published a groundbreaking report documenting the central role of Maersk, the world's second largest container shipping line, in transporting components for Israel's F-35 fighter jet. The F-35, known as the 'crown jewel' of the Israeli military, has been used by Israel to carry out countless massacres across Gaza, most infamously the 2024 al-Mawasi camp massacre in which Israel murdered at least 90 Palestinians. In order for this devastating military cargo to reach the clutches of the IDF, it must first pass through Houston. From 2020 to 2025, 432 shipments of F-35 fighter jet parts passed through the Port of Houston, to be assembled into jets in Fort Worth's Lockheed Martin facility and flown to Israel. The Port of Houston has facilitated more shipments of F-35 fighter jet wings than any other port in the United States.
After learning the full extent of the port's complicity in Israel's war crimes, the Palestinian Youth Movement and Palestine Solidarity TX began making expeditions to the Port of Houston. We met with dockworkers, learned about Maersk's treatment of laborers, and coordinated flyer drops and letter deliveries to Maersk's Houston office. This work was instrumental in mounting international pressure against the shipping giant.
At the same time, we witnessed a shift within the international movement for Palestine towards local campaigns for an arms embargo. From workers in Italy and Spain leading national work stoppages to prevent shipment of military cargo through their ports, to the launch of the Oakland People's Arms Embargo by the Bay Area chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, we knew that it was time to localize our demand for Maersk and challenge the use of Houston's public infrastructure for genocide.
The shift to organizing an arms embargo campaign in Houston was rooted in a few developments in the struggle: 1) the genocide on Gaza raged on with more ferocity and international impunity than anyone had imagined 2) we recognized that a vast majority of Houstonians were on the side of the Palestinians and wanted an immediate end to the slaughter and 3) local pro-Israel politicians like John Whitmire and the city council members who backed him were facing rapid political isolation and unpopularity in the city.
We launched the Houston Arms Embargo not only because of the moral righteousness of our demands. The local context of Houston had become increasingly favorable to coalition-building for Palestine. We recognized that we could take the widespread anger and grief Houstonians felt watching the genocide unfold and turn it into something with political teeth. Our campaign has been dedicated to building tangible, grassroots power to leverage towards our singular demand: end the transport of military cargo through the Port of Houston.
Since launching last summer, the Houston Arms Embargo campaign has built a coalition of more than 40 community and advocacy organizations. Organizers have collected over 4,000 signatures, testified at Port Houston Port Authority meetings, hosted public events, and organized demonstrations at Barbours Cut Terminal, where ships carrying F-35 components arrive every month. We're building power through organized labor, through advocacy and outreach, and creating a network of institutions and individuals who can, through their unity in action, inflict real political costs for the port's continued facilitation of genocide cargo.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The Houston Arms Embargo is one of the few campaigns that has been able to sustain a galvanized, activated base. While this can be attributed in no small part to the diligent organizing of the campaign, we believe its success is rooted in something far more intrinsic: the people of Houston crave political leadership. For two years, elected officials across our city and state did everything in their power to avoid the question of Palestine. Many could not even muster up a meager "thought and prayer" in the face of Palestinian bodies piling up under the rubble of their homes. If the last two years have taught our city anything, it's that leadership is not a title or a paycheck. It is having the courage to understand the needs of working-class Houstonians and prioritize them over the interests of donors and lobbying groups. And when our city government could not, our campaign could. For that, Houstonians continue to join our campaign with enthusiasm, conviction, and dedication.
The reality in Gaza is bleak. Daily bombing campaigns rage on while Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" seeks to concentrate groups of Palestinians into "humanitarian safe-zones," a thin veil for the codification of Israel's illegal occupation of Gaza. The Palestinian people deserve justice. They deserve to live in peace in their homeland. A single hair on the head of a maimed Palestinian child is as heavy as the U.S.-made bomb used to kill him. And no political jargon is strong enough to convince the people of Houston to accept our city's infrastructure being used for the bombing of another church, or mosque, or hospital, or school, or safe zone, or aid distribution site, or UN office, or cafe, or soccer game. We know that this struggle will be long, but times are changing, and with each protest, demonstration, and initiative made by our campaign, we get closer to a free Palestine and a better, more just world for all who inhabit it.
This is the Houston Arms Embargo. Join our fight today.
Sign the petition to demand an end to the use of Houston's infrastructure for genocide here. To learn more about the Houston Arms Embargo campaign and upcoming events, visit its website and Instagram.