Letter: Kent protest not as “practical” as it seems

There has been wide publicity for 150 people, many union activists, blockading a military-component factory in Kent on Thursday 26 October, with implications or statements that the factory is “providing weapons to the Israeli military”. Many people surely took part out of horror at the Israeli government’s collective punishment of Palestinians, and good for them.

Only the image of doing something immediate and practical against Israel’s misdeeds in Gaza is not quite right.

Elbit Systems UK Ltd, the main target for some years for similar protests by the Palestine Action group, including brave ones for which activists will soon come up in court , manufacture stuff to be sold, overwhelmingly, to the British military. Elbit Systems UK Ltd. is a subsidiary of an international arms company, Elbit Systems, which is headquartered in Israel. Much more Israel arming Britain than Britain arming Israel.

Instro Precision Ltd., the factory in Sandwich, Kent, is a British-based company, selling mostly to the British military, that has been bought up and made a subsidiary of Elbit Systems UK Ltd.

Of arms exported by the UK, most by far go to Saudi Arabia , which has been committing atrocities in Yemen. Turkey, Oman, USA and Qatar are other major importers of UK arms. Israel isn’t a significant importer of UK arms.

Instro Precision Ltd., on top of supplying the British army, does manufacture components which end up in bits of weapons sold internationally, including perhaps some to Israel.

It is not for us to defend an arms factory against protest, except perhaps one delivering to an oppressed people fighting conquest. But the strand into which the action fits is maybe closer to a general “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” policy on Israel than to specifically blocking arms to Israel.

BDS is harmful , seen by many supporters and detractors alike as pushing for the delegitimisation and destruction of Israel .

We explained further before the Kent blockade: “Workers’ Liberty believes Israel has a right to defend its civilian population. However... it surely already has the equipment it needs to carry out legitimately self-defensive activities...

“The call to block arms shipments has most publicly been taken up by political currents who oppose not only Israel’s policies but its very existence, and their perspective on that must be challenged. Political narratives arguing that Israel is an artificial creation or implantation of specifically British imperialism must also be challenged.”

“Nevertheless, the general call itself, to block arms shipments to Israel, should be supported. The four largest exporters of arms to Israel are the USA (70.2%), Germany (23.9%), Italy (5.9%), and Canada (0.05%)...”

“But the most effective political step socialists and trade unionists who want to advance struggles for democracy and equality can take is to make direct links with activists and organisations engaged in those struggles on the ground [like Standing Together]”.

We should support efforts by workers internationally to block the shipment of arms to Israel, as to Saudi Arabia with its atrocities in Yemen, Turkey with its atrocities against the Kurds, etc., plus more holistic and politically better campaigning off the “arms off campus”, “campaign against the arms trade” variety. Efforts on “Israel’s arms trade in Britain”, as Palestine Action put it, should instead be done as part of such a wider call. The disproportionate or sole focus on Israel in this context may seem to make sense because of Gaza now, but in fact is not new.

More widely, we advocate worker-led repurposing of arms and components factories to more ecological and socially useful ends, on the model of the Lucas plan and similar.

Zack Muddle, Bristol