Israel’s largest armaments company also produces in Germany. A protest camp in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, is campaigning for the closure of the sites and demanding a stop to all arms exports to Israel.
Anton Benz and Matthias Monroy
It was a different kind of concert: on Wednesday morning, a small string orchestra blocked the entrance to a German branch of the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in Ulm. The seven activists from the Lebenslaute network were supported by around a dozen protesters from the Shut Elbit Down – Germany campaign. In the afternoon, a demonstration of around 50 people marched through the city, accompanied by slogans such as ‘Blood, blood, blood on your hands’ and ‘Elbit Systems – child murderer’.
According to the police, around 40 people have been occupying a green space within sight of the armaments company since Tuesday. Having travelled from all over Germany, they have set up around a dozen tents directly in front of the Ulm site of Elbit Systems Germany.
‘We are demonstrating in Ulm because we are joining the international campaigns against Elbit in the UK, the USA and Sweden, among others, which are calling for the closure of Elbit’s branches,’ an activist from the campaign, who does not wish to be named, told ‘nd’. The activists are calling on the German government to stop all arms exports to Israel and to stop any collaboration between the German Armed Forces and the arms industry and educational institutions.
In the course of the protests, the police filed three charges, as ‘nd’ learnt on enquiry. These included an administrative offence, suspected trespassing and an unregistered assembly.
Elbit Systems develops and supplies systems for the army, air force, navy and military cyberspace as well as for civilian security applications. These are sold to Europe, among other countries – and some are also manufactured there. According to the German subsidiary in Ulm, it develops and manufactures modern military communication devices, such as radios for the German armed forces. Night vision devices, targeting optics and defence systems against missile attacks are also manufactured there.
The company is also working on drones and drone defence systems – technologies that the German armed forces and other NATO states are interested in. The Ulm site was only recently expanded to accommodate the growing business and increasing number of employees. In 2024, Elbit Systems’ total turnover increased by over 14 per cent compared to the previous year.
‘For us, it is irrelevant whether Elbit’s radio equipment from Ulm ends up with the Bundeswehr or the Israeli military, because the site is still part of Elbit and thus represents one of the biggest profiteers of the genocide in Gaza,’ says Shut Elbit Down.
Whether Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians is the subject of proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch already see the facts of genocide confirmed. When asked by ‘nd’, Elbit Systems Germany did not comment on the accusations levelled by the activists against the company before the editorial deadline.
They modelled their protest on the actions of the British network Palestine Action: apparently as a result of ongoing protests by this and other groups, Elbit Systems sold a large factory in Oldham, England, in 2022. They had repeatedly attacked the site with paint, smashed windows and blocked access roads due to the oppression of Palestinians. Despite increased security and structural measures, Elbit was unable to reliably maintain production.
Before the activists broke up the camp on Thursday afternoon, there was a kind of farewell concert for Elbit. This time, a rap song rang out from a loudspeaker. The refrain: ‘Free, Free Palestine’. It won’t be long before they meet again – the group has been demonstrating regularly in Ulm since December 2023.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Shut Elbit Down Deutschland.
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