26 September 2024 – Elbit 8 on trial Oct 1 in Merrimack on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest at Elbit Systems
A campaign demanding that weapons corporations stop arming the genocide in Gaza continues as eight arrested for protesting at Elbit Systems in New Hampshire are scheduled for trial on October 1 at 9am.
Supporters are expected to gather outside the Merrimack District Court at 4 Baboosic Lake Road at 8:30am to express support for an end to genocide in Gaza and opposition to war profiteer Elbit. They will call attention to the 330,000+ people killed in Gaza by Israel’s carpet bombing, sniper, and starvation campaigns.
Eight New England activists held a non-violent protest at Elbit Systems in Merrimack, New Hampshire on Friday March 22 where workers were prevented from reaching the facility in advance of the morning shift. It took most of the day and a total of 70 police to remove the blockade.
Elbit Systems is an Israeli company with locations in the U.S. It has been targeted by protesters in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and in several locations in the UK including Leicester where the facility is now closed. Elbit also recently closed their Cambridge office in Massachusetts due to relentless protests and disruptions by activists there.
On March 26 Governor Chris Sununu discussed the case in a radio interview saying, “we’re going to persecute[sic] this to the full extent of the law.. as opposed to some places around the country who let these protesters just go.”
“Elbit makes 85% of Israel’s drones and land vehicles,” said a medical doctor from Maine who is one of the defendants. “Their plant in Merrimack has a history of working on surveillance technology / ‘Israeli border security’, reflecting its direct involvement in decades of Israeli occupation and apartheid. This plant also received a multimillion dollar contract in 2023 to make Improved Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems, which are helmet displays for fighter jet pilots to help them murder more Palestinians.”
