Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) will hold a peaceful vigil outside the offices of Osborne Clarke, 2 Temple Back, this afternoon (Friday, June 4).
Protesters will gather outside Osborne Clarke’s offices from 13:00 to demonstrate against Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, whose UK branch, Elbit UK, is registered to a PO Box in the offices of Osborne-Clarke.
Elbit UK has ten sites across the UK, including four arms factories, and an office building in Bristol.
In a statement, Ed Hill, a Palestine campaigner from St Pauls, said ‘Elbit makes drones that slaughter innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.
‘People will be shocked, really shocked, to hear they’re in the heart of our city!
‘Bristol is officially a city of Sanctuary – how can it be right to have a company like Elbit here?’
Organizers of the vigil say there will be speeches, singing, and poetry, as well as a “die-in” – where protesters lie on the ground pretending to be dead – every hour, and names of Palestinian dead will be read out.
The event will be announced in the local mosques after Friday prayers and organizers expect good attendance.
Recent actions from Palestine Action, including an occupation of Elbit UK’s offices in Aztec West, and spray-painting the offices of JLL, property managers of Elbit UK’s headquarters, have brought attention to the presence of the Israeli arms industry in Bristol.
Feature image credit: Palestine Action.