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Peaceful protest outside ‘immoral’ Israeli arms manufacturer
There is only one facility of Elbit Systems UK left in the Bristol area after their second site recently and unexpectedly closed down.
That existing branch of the Israeli arms manufacturer was the target of a peaceful protest where around two dozen people stood outside its gates as employees arrived early Thursday morning.
The activists were an offshoot group of Bristol Quakers, staging the vigil to draw attention to the “immorality” of Elbit’s factory and “the complicity of Bristol” in the arms trade.
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The Bolingbroke Way site in Filton was barricaded with metal fences and guarded by two security staff.
Elbit Systems UK is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, which is Israel’s largest arms producer.
Bristol24/7 has contacted Elbit Systems UK for comment.
David Mowat joined around 25 peaceful protesters outside the building in Filton on Thursday morning
Beneath a billowing flag of Palestine, banners read: ‘Honk against genocide,’ ‘Elbit drones kill Gazans’ and ‘Gaza is a genocide’.
David Mowat, a Quaker and musician, said the vigil aligned with Quakers’ tradition of silence, and he hoped it would prompt people to think about how our city’s wealth is tied to arms companies.
The 67-year-old said: “A peaceful vigil like this one still makes a point, still draws attention to the immorality of such a factory, being in Bristol or anywhere, and makes people who work here examine their conscience.
“It should make people of Bristol think about how Bristol becomes wealthy through arms companies like this.
“We are all complicit, to an extent, in what’s going on, and our government should be sanctioning places like this, not awarding it contracts.
“Technology should be used for peaceful processes, not for the awful, evil killing of children.”
Elbit Systems’ portfolio includes systems for military aircraft and helicopters, armed remote control boats, land vehicles and for command and control
At around 9am, one of the vigil’s organisers, Rosie Gilham, 30, read a prayer for Gaza.
“We hold in the light all suffering peoples, praying leaders choose justice in Palestine and Israel,” said the activist.
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Elbit Systems describes itself as the “backbone” of the Israel Defense Force’s drone fleet, which has been used extensively in the assault on Gaza.
Both the Filton branch and Aztec West facility, which is now closed down, was targeted many times by the now-proscribed group Palestine Action.
All photos & video: Betty Woolertom
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