Forged Solutions, complicit in Genocide

Today campaigners from around the country blockaded the Forged Solutions Factory in Meadowhall, Sheffield. Here is what happened.

Hilary explained why Forged Solutions are complicit with Genocide, by manufacturing parts for F-35 fighter jets that are exported to Israel. She asked Forged Solutions “Why do you still have two licenses to produce components for F-35? Do you not care that you are breaking international law? Do you not care that your actions in producing parts for F-35 jets is complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people?

Jenny Patient critised the Mayor’s plans for the City which concentrate on the expansion of the arms and nuclear industries, creating very few jobs. She concluded “Our Government, our sad Labour Government, believes in military Keynesianism. It believes in spending money on arms manufacturers in the belief that that would boost our local economy. This is nonsense to any proper economist. It is completely unproductive investment. And that is what we’re being offered as South Yorkshire in our devolution deal, our deal for growth that the Mayor has come up with, with the Government. This is what we’re being offered. More arms factories. Would you like that South Yorkshire? So, we need to remove this rock from our from our local economy, from our system, from our city, because it’s not doing us any good. It’s not doing any good for the people of Gaza. It’s not doing any good for the people of Palestine. It’s not doing any good for the people of Sheffield or the people of Barnsley or Rotherham or Doncaster. And let’s get rid of it. Let’s turn around from militarism to anti-militarism. Let’s have a peace city again and go that way.”

The Tadhamon Singers sang a sea shanty as a tribute to everyone on the Flotilla, called The Seige of Gaza. This was followed by the Forged Solutions version of Down by the Riverside and the protest classic Bella Ciao with new lyrics.

George Arthur spoke for the Trades Council of Barnsley but said he was embarrassed by our Unions lack of action compared to what has been happening in Europe. He said “Two million people took part in protests and walkouts. This was in spite of the Italian authorities declaring that the strike was against the law. Last Saturday saw crowds of over 300,000 in Rome, 100,000 in Milan, 50,000 in Naples, 25,000 in Venice, and a total of 150,000 in cities in Sicily. Rallies were held in 100 towns and cities. On Monday in Pisa, a group stormed the airport runway with flares and protested at the airport flights taking off and stopped them. In Turin, protesters pulled metal barriers onto the railways to stop transport. In Naples, dock workers blockaded the port. One of those involved in the protest said 10,000 people occupied the port, particularly the dock where a ship from Israel was planned to land and unload. We established a permanent protest to prevent it from docking. On Wednesday, the government’s representative in the city publicly announced that the ship would not be allowed to dock at the port of Livorno. In Britain, we’ve got many trade union leaders who supported the calling of demonstrations for Gaza. It’s just a shame that they haven’t done much to encourage members to take part and for activities to take place in workplaces. In spite of that, we can be proud that we’ve seen the largest, most sustained series of protests in our history. It’s great to see the cultural pressure building against Israel. On September 14th, about 100,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators forced the final stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race in the Spanish capital to be halted because the Israel Premier Tech team was competing. As a result of that, the team is now rebranding itself and dropping the Israel name. Kier Starmer brings in more and more plans to prevent Palestine protests. Yesterday, students at Leeds University, many universities around the country had protests about the second anniversary of October 7th. In Leeds, the students were kettled by the police. Shame on Kier Starmer.”

A moving ceremony brought many close to tears as the names of a tiny proportion of the people killed in Gaza were read by the demonstrators, continually for 10 minutes, each name punctuated by a drumbeat. The names were then tied to the Forged Solutions fence around a sign saying “Slaughtered in Gaza”.

A speaker from Stop Arming Israel explained how Direct Action is impacting the companies supplying the Israeli war machine.

Drivers were informed about what they could do with signs spaced out along the pavement.