Photo Essay: Melbourne protest against Israeli war profiteer, Elbit Systems.

Dear friends,
I am a little late in posting this up, but on Monday October 6, Melbourne activists from Students for Palestine and Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid conducted a small action outside of Israeli war profiteer, Elbit Systems.    

Elbit Systems is the Israeli weapons manufacturer whose drones have been used in Gaza to kill hundreds of unarmed and defenseless Palestinian men, women and children.Israel's Occupation Forces have praised Elbit's drones (unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs) "for delivering added operational value in recent combat in Gaza".

According to Bloomberg's financial press, the Israeli based Elbit Systems share price has increase 6.1 percent to $63.01 since Israel began its murderous assault on Gaza, which has resulted in more than 2000 Palestinians killed, the majority (more than 80%) civilians, including almost 470 children. 

In August, activists from the Melbourne Palestine Action Group, which is made up of activists from the Whistleblower, Activist and Citzens Alliance and Renegade Activists also carried out an action against Elbit, successfully locking it down for approximately 5 hours. You can read my earlier post on the August action here.

Please find below details of the October action and some photos below.

in solidarity, Kim

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Protest Elbit Systems: 6 October, 2014

Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza, which saw 1,951 Palestinians killed and 10,193 injured, has rightly prompted worldwide outrage and protest. One of the targets of these protests has been the Israeli arms companies that produce the weapons that have been used to massacre Palestinians.

Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest military company. It provides a wide range of equipment and services to the Israeli military, including surveillance equipment used in Israel’s illegal Wall and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), known as drones. Elbit Systems armed drones are widely used by the Israeli military.

According to Palestinian human rights organization Al Mezan Center, armed drones killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza in the period 2000-2010. Elbit Systems markets its drone technology across the world as ‘field tested’.

Australia is an important client for Elbit Systems. In 2010 Elbit Systems announced a “significant breakthrough” in Australia when the Australian Army signed a $331 million contract for a battle management and communication systems.

Last year the Australian Federal Police signed a $35 million contract with Elbit Systems for “an Investigation, Intelligence and Incident Management (IIIM) Solution”. This is part of a pattern of technologies of surveillance and repression developed through the Occupation being profitably exported to police and so called “homeland security” services around the world.