US arms company hit by protest on both sides of the Atlantic

‘In our thousands, in our millions – we are all Palestinians’, the chants rang out in the morning sunshine as protesters blocked the gates of L3Harris in Brighton. Some of them had been at this unassuming looking arms factory on the south coast of England since 6.30am.

Tucked away on the outskirts of the city, US company L3 Harris manufacturers bomb release mechanisms for F-35 fighter jets which are being used by the Israeli military in Gaza. One of the world’s biggest arms companies, L3Harris produces a range of electronics, surveillance and communications systems used by militaries across the world, as well as surveillance technology used in the West Bank and on the US border.

‘We want to remind L3Harris, and the people who work here, that if you choose to use your skills and talents to facilitate genocide there is no such thing as business as usual, there is no such thing as a quiet day on the office,’ Lianne from the Stop L3Harris campaign told the crowd.

This May Day was a protest with a difference – a community day of action, organized by a number of local campaign groups. Singing, dancing, poetry, games art, a children’s story as well as a number of talks were on the programme.

As the dabke circled in front of us– a traditional folk dance popular in Palestine – Lianne explained to New Internationalist why organizers had decided to organize what was almost a mini festival, on this small industrial estate. ‘L3Harris deal in death and destruction, but we deal in hope and joy. We will be stopping to remember and there will be solemn moments in the day but also it’s about the vibrant, diverse Brighton community saying we are here to dance and sing because we’re not going to be complicit in the genocide’.

All was quiet behind the L3Harris fence. Activists say that no workers entered the premises and the factory was shut down for the day.

L3Harris works at eleven sites in the UK. On the evening of 1 May, a protest led by London Campaign Against Arms Trade also took place outside the company’s office in central London. As events wound down in Britain, Northampton, Massachusetts took over the baton. People gathered in front of L3Harris’ Village Hill headquarters before marching on a local council meeting.

The local L3Harris facility reportedly makes periscopes and other optical equipment which can be used submarines, as well as a range of other military applications.

The Northampton activists sent a message of solidarity which was read out to the crowd in Brighton: ‘We must stay in global solidarity together now more than ever. Global solidarity is what ended apartheid in South Africa and it will be part of the liberation of Palestine within our lifetime.

— Amy Hall (@amyrhall)

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