Charleston, SC – On October 4, the Elbit Out of South Carolina coalition joined an International Day of Action and hosted a rally outside of the Elbit Systems’ factory in Ladson, South Carolina. Organizers demanded an end to the genocide in Gaza and the tax breaks Elbit receives.

More than 50 people joined the Saturday morning picket which marked the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the coalition’s weekly picketing against the local Elbit facility and two years of the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Ladson facility opened in the summer of 2023 with several tax incentives facilitated by Charleston County Council, including a Fee in Lieu of Tax (FILOT) deal that has faced increased scrutiny.

Beyond the county’s support for the factory, speakers also criticized Elbit Systems’ role in supplying the Israeli military with howitzer cannons, which have killed and injured Palestinians, as well as a recent shipment of hundreds of tons of munitions.

Speakers at the rally represented the coalition’s different members including Free Palestine Charleston, Lowcountry Action Committee, Charleston Democratic Socialists of America and other local groups that are invested in Palestinian solidarity.

Nizar Hurraa spoke to his experiences as a Palestinian-American living in the United States, stating, “As a Palestinian-American physician, I am here not out of anger, but out of a profound sense of duty to protect human life. We are calling for the closure of this Elbit Systems facility because its products are used to harm civilians, including children, in Gaza and beyond.”

As one of the fastest gentrifying communities in the U.S., Charleston area residents are all too familiar with what it feels like to be displaced. Tri-County Tenant Union member Ila Navarro gave comments that compared the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with local Gullah Geechee residents, saying, “Redevelopment is forcing so many families, mostly Black families, off of a land that some of them have lived on for generations, some for over 40 years, to make way for new residents and tourists.”

Dozens of passersby honked in solidarity and received fliers while they were waiting at red lights. Some even decided to pull over and join the rally once they realized the purpose.

Organizers kept up the energy until the end with regular chants of “I believe that we will win!” as well as reminders to join the weekly Thursday pickets outside of the facility. “We are winning and the enemy is terrified, because they know that if the workers of the world free Palestine, then it’s on,” said Alfred Peeler, an organizer with FRSO’s Charleston District and the Lowcountry Action Committee.

“If we build the power to shut down this factory of death, then we can wield that power to kick ICE out of our communities, we can wield that power to end the blockade on Cuba and to end sanctions regimes starving workers across the globe,” said Peeler. “We will have the power to take community control over the police and we can wield that power to put the wealth created by working people to work for us instead of for the war machine.”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Elbit #LAC #FRSO

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