By World BEYOND War, March 3, 2024
On Friday, February 23rd, the UN called for an immediate arms embargo, specifically calling out Canadian arms exports and reminding officials involved in the weapons trade that they may be “individually criminally liable for aiding and abetting any war crimes.” This announcement came a month after the International Court of Justice found that South Africa made a plausible case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. But the Canadian government, which authorized almost $30 million of new permits for military exports to Israel in the first two months of the current assault on Gaza, has continued to refuse to implement an arms embargo on Israel.
In the face of unspeakable daily horrors, people from coast-to-coast are rising up to take matters into their own hands and force the Canadian government to #StopArmingGenocide. During the last week of February, workers and activists disrupted the operations at seven weapons manufacturers arming Israel. The targeted companies export technological components that are integral elements of warplanes, missile systems, and other tools that Israel has used to kill over 30,000 Palestinians since October.
The week wrapped up with a message projected up high on the tallest building in the country and a promise that we won’t stop mobilizing until Canada stops arming Israel.
CN Tower Projection
Roundup video of the whole week
Read more about each local action below, and learn how you too can take action to demand that Canada #StopArmingGenocide!
Toronto
It kicked off Monday at dawn in Toronto with a blockade of 200 people closing access to all doors and driveways of a big factory that makes circuit boards for use in Israeli military contractor Elbit Systems’ targeted missiles and fighter jets.
Great coverage on Global national news of yesterday’s weapons blockades in Toronto and Peterborough kicking off rolling actions across the country, all disrupting weapons companies arming Israel. Stay tuned for more today.. #StopArmingGenocide #ArmsEmbargoOnIsrael pic.twitter.com/a8ePRAsRsq
— World BEYOND War Canada (@WBWCanada) February 27, 2024
Peterborough
Early Monday morning, approximately 40 residents of Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, including Indigenous Peoples, university students and parents blocked entrances to Safran Electronics and Defense. Bearing banners which read “Stop Arming Genocide” and “Permanent Ceasefire Now,” the group held a hard picket at shift change at the main entrances of Safran Electronics, which has an agreement with the Israeli government to support the development of its Arrow 3 anti-missile system and surveillance at border walls.
Calgary
Calgary community members faced frigid temperatures to hold a picket at a local weapons manufacturing plant, following Toronto and Peterborough’s morning blockades to demand an end to Canadian military exports to Israel. Raytheon is the world’s second-largest military company, manufacturing missiles, bombs, components for fighter jets, and other weapon systems used by the Israeli military against Palestinian civilians.
Québec City
On Tuesday morning, workers and community members in Québec City disrupted a Thales facility, which has provided components for Israel’s air force, navy, and ground forces for decades.
Vancouver
On Tuesday protestors blockaded access to a Hikvision promotional event in Vancouver, British Columbia. Hikvision sells surveillance cameras to the Israeli military, including cameras that are used in illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. These surveillance technologies “are providing the Israeli authorities with powerful new tools for curbing freedom of movement…adding further layers of technological sophistication to the system of apartheid that Israel is imposing on Palestinians,” according to Amnesty.
Hikvision products are operated by Israeli police as well as by “private settlers” and are distributed through its Israeli distributor, HVI Security Solutions Ltd., which “claims to be Hikvision’s official representation in Israel, and purport to be Israel’s largest video surveillance importer, with over 40% market share. According to HVI Security Solutions, its products have been deployed by police and security forces all over Israel.”
Kitchener-Waterloo
Early Wednesday morning, activists blocked the road to a Colt Canada facility in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, the country’s only significant machine gun factory. Colt produced the M16, the standard-issue assault rifle used by the Israeli military from the 1990s to the early 2010s. In November 2023, Israel ordered about 18,000 M4 and MK18 assault rifles from Colt for civilian “security squads” in dozens of cities and towns, including illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Victoria
On Wednesday morning at dawn in Victoria, British Columbia, workers and organizers linked arms and locked bikes together to block entrances to the Lockheed Martin facility, shutting down the morning shift at the world’s largest military company. Lockheed Martin manufactures F16 and F35 fighter jets, and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles for Israel’s Apache helicopters, the primary weapons systems being used in aerial attacks on Gaza over the past four months.
Media coverage
Check out the news coverage rolling in from all the actions! Here’s Global National, CityNews, CTV, Pivot, The Maple, The Grind, Victoria News, Capital Daily, and Rabble.
Take Action
Join us now to demand Canada stop arming genocide and impose an immediate arms embargo on Israel.
Ready to escalate and to take action in-person at a company near you involved in arming Israel?
Check out the map of companies across Canada here.
Here's a mini-toolkit to think through taking action (click on each image to expand):
