28 August 2024 – View on Unity of Fields Telegram
CONFIRMED: WE SHUT ELBIT DOWN IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS!
After much speculation, a local paper just confirmed Elbit Systems terminated its lease at 130 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge. This comes after over a year of relentless community organizing and protest organized by BDS Boston, as well as Palestine Action US autonomous direct actions, property damage, and clashes with the police. Actionists targeted Elbit, its landlord (Intercontinental Real Estate), its co-tenants, and its collaborators to build pressure for eviction through a wide diversity of tactics — but militancy is what gave the movement teeth. The most effective direct actions were clandestine and did not result in arrest. We stand with the actionists still facing charges for protesting Elbit.
Through this small victory, we see the effectiveness of secondary/tertiary targeting and an aboveground-underground strategy pairing autonomous direct actions with mass organizing. Look out for more reports and reflections from Cambridge soon. We will not stop until every Elbit and all genocide profiteers are shut down, until the “US” and “Israel” are dismantled!
BDS Boston, the organization that led the protests, said the end of Elbit’s lease “is a testament to our collective power,” crediting “varied community efforts” for disrupting the operations of Elbit and its landlord, Intercontinental Management Corp., and “forcing the early termination of the lease.” The group vowed to keep fighting to “prevent Elbit from moving to another nearby location.” It also said it will continue efforts to “sever Elbit’s ties with MIT and other actors in the Boston area.” An Intercontinental regional director, Scott Kelly, confirmed earlier in the day that Elbit had terminated its lease.
“We will not consider ourselves victorious until Elbit Systems is dismantled and until Palestine is liberated,” BDS Boston said.
Follow @unity_of_fields and @BDSBoston on IG to stay updated.