by Arvind Dilawar

On May 7, activists opposing the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza — which has killed more than 36,439 Palestinians, including 15,000 children, according to Al Jazeera at the time of this writing — blockaded the Ametek Rotron manufacturing facility in Woodstock, New York. For 9 hours, more than 30 activists physically obstructed the facility’s two entrances using “lockboxes,” pipes allowing them to securely fasten themselves to one another. They maintained the blockade until law enforcement from local, county and state agencies, armed with riot gear, K9 units and angle grinders to saw through the lockboxes, arrived to forcefully remove and arrest them.

Photo Credit: Zachary Schulman

“Activists made it clear that there will be no business as usual while these facilities are enabling massacres occurring in Gaza.”

— Woodstock Activists

“Police proceeded to forcefully drag protestors backwards, still hooded, out of the driveway,” said an activist in their press release, referring to hoods that officers had thrown over activists’ heads.

Disruption of the F-15, F-16 and F-35 Fighter Jets In Woodstock

Ametek Rotron produces fans, blowers and cooling systems for a variety of military aircraft, including the F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, per the company’s website. The three fighter jets have been identified by Palestinian activists as some of the primary weapons systems being provided by the United States to the Israeli military. According to Workers in Palestine, a coalition of Palestinian labor unions and professional associations, Israel has a fleet of F-15s, F-16s and F-35s, all of which are being deployed in Gaza.

Disruption of the F-35 “Joint Strike Fighter”

Production of the F-35 in particular has been targeted by activists worldwide, due its development as a “Joint Strike Fighter” produced by Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Since February, a Dutch court has blocked shipment of all F-35 parts from the Netherlands to Israel due to the ongoing genocide, as reported by Reuters.

World-Wide Actions To Block Weapons Facilities

As the activists in Woodstock acknowledge in their press release, the blockade of the Ametek Rotron facility occurred within the context of similar actions around the world. Since 2020, activists in the United Kingdom, particularly those with Palestine Action, have targeted the facilities of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, permanently shuttering multiple sites. Stateside, activists have also demonstrated at the headquarters of Colt’s Manufacturing Co. in West Hartford, Connecticut, due to the company supplying M41A assault rifles and accessories to the Israeli military, as reported by Stamford Advocate.

Huge Amounts Of Money That Israel Spends On US Manufacturers Of Weapons

As reported in the article: “Colt’s Manufacturing has secured several major Army deals in recent years, including a $26.7 million contract awarded on May 1 for M4A1 carbines, suppressors, and flash suppressors, with the work to be done in West Hartford. ‘Fiscal 2024 Foreign Military Sales (Israel) funds in the amount of $26,675,000 were obligated at the time of the award,’ reads the announcement on the Defense Department website.”

Additionally, activists have blockaded a manufacturing facility of Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California, due to its production of F-35s and other weapons used by the Israeli military in Gaza, per Democracy Now.

“This action is in solidarity with a global moment exposing the terror manufactured at facilities such as Ametek Rotron,” said the Woodstock activists in their press release. “... Activists made it clear that there will be no business as usual while these facilities are enabling massacres occurring in Gaza.”