The Oldham based “Stop Arming Israel” campaign aimed at Ferranti Technologies, owned by the Israeli arms company Elbit, is going from strength to strength. Read on and find out how you can support the campaign!
The campaign started eight weeks ago with a demonstration outside the factory and has been followed up with regular stalls and leafleting outside Oldham’s Spindles shopping centre. Local people, who have been surprised and upset to find that there’s an arms factory in their town, have been fantastically supportive and there have been queues at the stall to sign the petition!
The campaign has three parts to it:
- A call to stop arming Israel, because of Israel’s human rights abuses against the Palestinian people. These abuses are many, the occupation of the West Bank, the attacks on Gaza , the checkpoints, the stealing of Palestinian land, the house demolitions, the ‘apartheid ‘wall …… and many more.
- Welfare not warfare. The campaign is highlighting the waste of Government money on the arms trade, instead of opposing austerity and spending the money on vital local services, NHS, apprenticeships etc.
- The protection of local jobs by supporting an ‘Arms to Renewables’ policy. The arms industry currently receives a huge public subsidy- but reallocating resources to renewables could create more and better jobs. You can read more about the Arms to Renewables campaign on the CAAT website.
- A vigil on Thursday 1st December outside Spindles by Boots from 4 – 5pm. The vigil is part of actions around the world in support of two young Israeli women who are in prison because, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, they refused to serve in the Israeli army supporting the occupation of the West Bank and the repeated attacks on Gaza. You can find out more about this case from War Resisters International.
- Special Christmas songs for Ferranti/Elbit on Saturday 17th December from 12-2pm outside Spindles, familiar tunes and all words provided. Just turn up and join in!
- A public meeting in the New Year- date and venue to be announced, so keep your eyes out for more information soon!
If you’d like to get in touch to join the campaign locally, or if you’d like more information on one of the events, you can email ferrantistoparmingisrael(at)gmail*com or go to the Manchester PSC website at www.psc-manchester.org.uk. You can also call Sandy on 07594 596 905.
The Oldham Stop Arming Israel Campaign is supported by Manchester PSC, Manchester Palestine Action, Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine, Manchester & District CND, and CAAT.
