Letter: Clarifying the demands

There is a popular campaign in the North East to shut down Rafael arms manufacturing factory in Newcastle.

I think it’s right to say End The Arms Industry and transition to socially useful green jobs. And, right now, No Arms To Israel, Stop The Siege Of Gaza.

However, I am concerned about the arguments focusing on Rafael as an Israeli-owned company “killing children in Palestine”.

According to PSC (and others), Rafael is manufacturing missiles and armoured vehicles for use in Gaza, but how do I verify this? Some of the arguments seem knee-jerk reaction to the horror, and possibly misleading.

Does it matter, so long as we fight the war machine, and specifically, right now, oppose arming Israel?

Personally I believe it does matter. We need clear, focused demands, arguments, aims and tactics. We need honesty in debating how we defend Palestinians. How do we achieve this in an atmosphere of understandable anger?

Theo Allen, Teesside

• On the evidence available to us, the Rafael site in Newcastle produces stuff to be sold to the UK military. Rafael can make its sales to the Israeli military from its sites in Israel. This is about Israel arming the UK, not the UK arming Israel. We have no wish to defend the arms trade, but it’s not clear how a focus on Israeli products as worse for the UK military helps here — Solidarity.