On August 9, 2006, during the Israeli invasion of lebanon in 2006, nine members of the Derry Anti-War Coalition destroyed the computer mainframe of the local Raytheon bomb-making plant, and barricaded themselves in the building with office furniture for eight hours. A Belfast jury unanimously judged the £300,000 damage was justified since Israel was using Raytheon bombs to commit war crimes against the people of Lebanon.

The jury's decision should bring joy to the heart of all those who are determined to oppose the merchants of death, based here in the UK, who arm the ethnic cleansing regime in Tel Aviv.  This is only the latest jury to support decent citizens who take action against the crimes of the Israeli or British Governments.

This important day conference and workshops will discuss non-violent direct action as a means of campaigning and the implications of the 'Raytheon 9' case, as well as the equally inspiring Brighton PSC campaign the Israeli Agricultural Export company Agrexco.

Speakers:

Colm Bryce, one of the Raytheon 9 aquitted by a Belfast jury for their action in decommissioning the Raytheon offices in Derry in August 2006.

On 11 June 2008, by a unanimous verdict of the jury, the Raytheon 9 were found not guilty of three counts of criminal damage at the Raytheon offices, Derry Northern Ireland on 9 August 2006.

Immediately afterwards, the defendants addressed supporters and press outside Belfast’s Laganside Court. Colm Bryce began:

The Raytheon 9 have been aquitted today in Belfast for their action in decommissioning the Raytheon offices in Derry in August 2006. The prosecution could produce not a shred of evidence to counter our case that we had acted to prevent the commission of war crimes during the Lebanon war by the Israeli armed forces using weapons supplied by Raytheon.

We remain proud of the action we took and only wish that we could have done more to disrupt the ‘kill chain’ that Raytheon controls.

This victory is welcome, for ourselves and our families, but we wish to dedicate it to the Shaloub and Hasheem families of Qana in Lebanon, who lost 28 of their closest relatives on the 30 July 2006 due to a Raytheon ‘bunker buster’ bomb.   Read full statement

Chris Boycott, Palestine solidarity activist involved in the Carmel Agrexco campaign in Brighton.

In the early houses of Saturday morning, activists occupied and shut-down the HQ and only UK frefight warehouse of Carmel Agrexco - Israel's largest agricultural exporter form the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The occupation held for over 6 hours until they were forcibly removed at 12 noon.

Early in the morning activists occupied and shut down operations at the Carmel Agrexco warehouse near Heathrow Airport by D-locking themselves to gates and to a lorrywithin the compound. Two activsts locked to a vehicle barrier, one to a truck and one to a main gate. Others climbed on top of the truck to further immobilise any loading or unloading work, and suspended banners. The Israeli flag that usually flies over the Carmel compound was removed and replaced with a black flag in mourning for Gaza.

During the occupation we sent away over 10 loading trucks intended for the warehouse. British supermarkets - accounting for 60% of Carmel-Agrexco's total exports - will have had their orders affected. The Israeli government has a 50% stake in the company. Exports include flowers, avocados and herbs grown in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.  Read full report 

Registration: £5/3

Register for this event by emailing: campaign@scottishpsc.org.uk