In Canada, activists blocked Pratt & Whitney plant to protest sales of arms to Israel.
“Not a Single Car or Truck In”
Blocking the Morning Shift at P&W,
A Weapons Company Arming Israel
World BEYOND War
(December 13, 2023) — On Tuesday December 12, 200 workers and community members from across Ontario met at dawn at the manufacturing plant of military contractor Pratt & Whitney Canada to block access to all four entrances as the morning shift was set to begin. Not a single truck or car entered the facility.
As Israel pursues its deadly assault on Gaza for a third month, the picket lines interrupted business as usual at an aerospace giant that makes engines for aircrafts that the Israeli military is using to carry out its bombing campaign against Palestinian lives and infrastructure.
Read media release here. The flier given out to workers at the plant is available here.
Anti-War Protests BlocK Canadian Factory
Supplying Engines for Israeli Drones
The 1014.co
(December 12, 2023) — A group of anti-war protesters comprised of workers and union members took a stand by blockading the entrance to a Canadian factory that produces engines for Israel’s drones. The Pratt & Whitney plant in Mississauga, near Toronto, was targeted by activists with signs displaying messages such as “Canada: Stop Arming Israel” and “Workers Against War.”
The protest was organized by World Beyond War, an activist organization dedicated to abolishing war. They mobilized over 200 workers and union members from across the Greater Toronto Area to participate in the blockade. The goal was to draw attention to the fact that Pratt & Whitney supplies engines for Israel’s warplanes and drones and to demand an end to Canada’s support for the arms trade with Israel.
Labor for Palestine and Labor Against the Arms Trade also joined the protest, highlighting their concerns about Canada’s involvement in supplying weapons to various conflict zones, including the deal between Canadian manufacturer GLDS and Saudi Arabia for light-armored vehicles.
Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX (formerly Raytheon), is a renowned manufacturer of jet engines with strong ties to both the United States and Israel. The company has provided engines for Israel’s Heron TP drone, which has been used extensively in Gaza for over 15 years. Furthermore, Pratt & Whitney signed a long-term contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defense in 2015 to supply replacement engines for its F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft.
The protest called on the Canadian government to impose an arms embargo on Israel, demand an immediate ceasefire, and end support for Pratt & Whitney and other arms companies involved in Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Despite the demonstrators’ efforts, Pratt & Whitney has not yet provided a comment regarding the blockade. However, workers at the plant expressed support for the protesters, with one individual noting his own personal experience with genocide and the vital importance of taking action against such atrocities.
READ MORE online here.
California protests blocked Zim’sarms shipments to Israel.
Actions by Canadian Peace Activists
Disrupt Israeli Arms-Shipping Company
World BEYOND War / Canada
(December 14, 2023) — On Monday December 11, Zim, Israel’s largest cargo shipping company, was disrupted across the country of Canada. Zim offices in Montreal and Toronto were taken over by peace activists and workers in the morning, and Vancouver offices were taken over in the afternoon.
A banner was also dropped in downtown Toronto over the CN rail tracks used to transport Zim containers in the morning, while a blockade of CN rails in London, Ontario, took place in the evening. These actions are responding to calls from Palestinian trade unionists to disrupt the global transport of Israeli weapons.
Zim is the main provider of shipping services to Israel. The company has a long history of supporting Israel’s military operations, and said last month that it would offer its ships and infrastructure to serve the “national needs of Israel.”
Zim is deeply complicit in the current assault and has transported weapons that are being used to enact this genocidal violence on the people of Gaza.
Among those, the company is allegedly responsible for transporting white phosphorus, an incendiary substance which Israel has deployed against civilians in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Zim exploits Canadian ports and railway lines to ship arms and goods to fuel the Israeli war machine.
“The majority of people in the country would be outraged if they knew that Zim was exploiting Canadian rail lines and ports to fuel the Israeli war machine,” said Rachel Small, World BEYOND War Canada Organizer.
“Logistics companies, arms manufacturers and politicians in every corner of the country are shamelessly supporting and profiting from the mass murder of Palestinians; and while Prime Minister Trudeau refuses to do the right thing, those with a moral conscience are forced to take whatever actions we can to stop a genocide.”
“We are taking action alongside workers across the globe, from Italy to Australia and beyond, who have organized impactful #BlockTheBoat actions targeting Zim over the last month”, said Aidan Macdonald with Labour for Palestine.
“Workers in Canada are taking up the call from workers in Palestine to disrupt the flow of weapons, and we will not allow our cities and ports to be part of the supply chain for the bombs raining down on the people of Gaza.”
Zim is the main provider of shipping services to Israel and one of the top ten largest shipping lines in the world. The company has a long history of supporting Israel’s military operations, and said last month that it would offer its ships and infrastructure to serve the “national needs of Israel.”
Zim is deeply complicit in the current assault and has transported weapons that are being used to enact this genocidal violence on the people of Gaza. Among those, the company is allegedly responsible for transporting white phosphorus, an incendiary substance which Israel has deployed against civilians in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
“We are joining the masses of people from around the globe who are mobilizing against the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza”, explained Dalia Awwad, with the Palestinian Youth Movement. “We are holding those complicit and profiting off the genocide of Palestinians accountable. There will be no business as usual while Canada continues to permit the sale of weapons to Israel, and while those bombs are being used with impunity to commit mass atrocities against Palestinians.”
Monday’s coordinated actions were planned by a number of local groups, and have been endorsed by national organizations including World Beyond War, Independent Jewish Voices, Labour for Palestine, and the Palestinian Youth Movement.
READ MORE online here.
