[News] Elbit dropped by Barclays and lobby firm APCO

Fri Nov 1 16:36:00 EDT 2024

Barclay’s latest reports show the bank no longer has any shares in 
Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems and lobbying giant APCO 
Worldwide announce they’ve dropped them too.

In the face of the Genocide in Gaza, over the past year, actionists have 
undertaken 54 actions against Barclay’s premises, smashing windows, 
covering them in blood-red paint, and attacking cash machines. Many of 
these actions shut the branches down for weeks, escalating the cost of 
doing business with Elbit, and hitting the only thing Barclay’s care 
about – their profits. Following the actions and community mobilisation, 
the bank has sold off all of its 16,345 Elbit shares 
<https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.lmpSTrE-G07FKUPTdpC9IXsUcdarpKZHJmpSZvfqtuRGzfp13xpSQ9EVCGKkQoewexLBDnFzGbJBZ003P5avcAkcXqThWsEOwbOoVCUhojFfxtNEBG5wso7KjH4rob3DkOZT2AIJQEDQNZCiucCt9LPegVCaWCxvEAyQ3wb4J_UiuvtU1fC5vegULUAqjdRE-6jOcFzWTwuTXfZCFIUxce3AZYyWm67yoytJcxf8bG02DtAPAmYyEz4MIfo6SgRC1lU-9zD-1uIKziDq72we1R5efB7p6TIcdo-m_xHsU-TRM-spuDjyzfTU4j2RuL7K5NEj7DhfFB6-4b7CrzKEgA/4b3/dxB-heOQSmmeGExcxOQudg/h0/h001.ISCnvY8AITeQakVTffoLT6fCRoUbJ3wd5U2Dzr3VfVc>, 
worth over $3,400,000.

Elbit themselves are feeling the impact, with two of their weapons 
factories forced to shut down,as a direct result of being targeted by 
Palestine Action. As the tide turns against them, and their direct 
involvement in Genocide becomes more widely known, they have been 
relying on lobbying firms to mislead and manipulate on their behalf. 
APCO Worldwide are a huge international firm of publicists, whose 
tentacles cover half the globe, but after representing them for at least 
9 years, they have now ditched Elbit as a client, because of their 
targeting by Palestine Action.

APCO were first targeted by Palestine Action on September 3^rd 2024 
<https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.lmpSTrE-G07FKUPTdpC9IXsUcdarpKZHJmpSZvfqtuRKix837tfZoEP3VLtBYedfrdxQcGNPVe3Zh0POglU90y1FkMQNTV763N0dW2S_A2p17V44mXdcZEWM2xWyRvNH6JH6_QfOSZMS_Tlsu-vArIjQ-38Q1dG2CmQzQxTjqkiDdJQpGJn5iu-QwDMIeTm9H1LMFyG8cJxd4MXstbV8bfEE22C6BpzW3WrZJrbfOKc4zeanwz5tKyZNiMjMpgBeb2NAYe5xUTMUbLc03F8dZ21CZyReHvu_3DW4GvEBECCSVS8-R3zdLC4vV1ut-DgrRVH1eGQawQKtFPRUWzO2pg/4b3/dxB-heOQSmmeGExcxOQudg/h1/h001.Nv8Y320AHhCt2VhegFNJ0GtTjLbE3iA9dRnzP9k3wjI>, 
when activists plastered the front of their London HQ with blood-red 
paint, and locked-on to block the entrance. Videos of the action reached 
millions of people, highlighting APCO’s role in the Gaza Genocide. A few 
days later, as a direct result of the action, internal disputes 
<https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.XaF8mXqsA6b2dSPmhsleMV8lUc774T0Vp1MXj3XEviRuHGT8oZ3oJpncbFaBmKt73WTaLNiDzo36toLOtkvybna0YPWO0H75_2EQnlTStBW8_FV2d7vNJ3PHUx3RDOrkzLhYW8PBnQYUbs048JmYEtymSJ27AqjpsXc3Dkaldayw-UaYldYDjCGpDAPsw82Jp_Y0Si7OXbFxoa0247RYIy5ZVTh3HL220pr6CBt-wZ3QdVwzEZLu0pz2EvhplkCFvIxH7uEVXovOAqGG9ChCoQPLIuRctLhKLr45aAWCqkmKpXieFVw-WSokbJhFYvj5TVZIrJinh9bflCsAlx2cxMJt8LDClVb1JB-eborYlGpOtHDASxnUjU7SW-ZRWd23k9IXBilAp0fu1mFpjB7SD70TNmJDIdig7nGQSncq3B-vY9R-v8QSAIY_C6hYLHc4iu2tKT6Yq3oJRgi484c05Q/4b3/dxB-heOQSmmeGExcxOQudg/h2/h001.SItFCsoQenR16VUk_n_MlFgtAnLfvi2KGe3eP6FCyLI>within 
the global company surfaced, as employees in APCO’s thriving Gulf 
offices, many of whom work on behalf of governments in the region, began 
to question why the company were representing Israel’s biggest arms 
manufacturer.

On October 25^th 
<https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.XaF8mXqsA6b2dSPmhsleMdwILVhgQPSU8wwDHPbcm95x_cupe0xMP1wM5tLuX4YS8S7nnoXn2L5xpYL-DuydBmqgez2xQSXED6OT2lqi-BOqP-C_ArclDsi9glqbfF2ovoM2_LsXdjicN_YKy77eglVjaYizzC-mFUNjnei6MVEkYHIWZvXuR7Nt9TMVnZv57nEbyYAfpNYXnfx9xW0BJDspwcvuPOLdFDOn2e8wezxesCYBH6CnA7cW4ibAjqIPITcYJBQDVXtK4N5e4JaQmzL4UxnZNUeKmv16wGjUnm4N5jIPSE9O3Et4_WLlIgPWCo8hUufwbN3jnnIcfyD53koLQmb0dYUKlv6ViACPflo/4b3/dxB-heOQSmmeGExcxOQudg/h3/h001.yuouvvgUxkl5oAluwA4dprwl8lHfwBsUESeszbKDrnI>, 
Palestine Action were back at APCO’s London headquarters, once again 
spraying the building with red paint, and also locking-on, to close it 
down for several hours. APCO had clearly had enough, and shortly after, 
they were describing Elbit as a former client.

APCO are a huge, international lobbying firm, and have Conservative 
Friends of Israel’s HonoraryPresident, Lord Stuart Polak, sitting on 
their International Advisory Council. However, a lobbying firm like APCO 
certainly know that there IS such a thing as bad publicity, and that it 
is not in their interests to represent a Genocidal arms manufacturer, 
nor to risk facing concerted direct action.

These are significant steps forward,both for Palestine Action, and for 
the tactics we embrace. Through a focused strategy, direct action has 
achieved multiple successes and forced the hands of many complicit 
institutions.

*Palestine Action will remain committed and focused to the task at hand 
and target any and all institutions and businesses which enable Israel’s 
biggest weapons firm to ma**intain their genocidal operations. *

Press release on APCO 
<https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.lmpSTrE-G07FKUPTdpC9IXsUcdarpKZHJmpSZvfqtuS-VfhGeObgK5YojduzhagZV5_qxLmyZQaiYnmdC3NMPjtwbkfUTASNEfxTs_0M1FltueVSLwhP4v18RDQ72GMNI4_ujuRPEZ9ESF1s4Vz4peZxXmidP0J6ykSNOoXACDjPvzUiZJjGNtoeZrNc__2wbmKWnBu5chIb5fIeOY6pGpSZpv1wD7cAsdFQjojUKZrEKK4YCUQwRYcj3AHprglgCO5YHXGFSfwTsYOBU-qiG3GVt5OPgY1couOMwYU_FDglc31BAn8nft_MnKVV6SoMpRpT02iHWw83kzk844TUqw/4b3/dxB-heOQSmmeGExcxOQudg/h4/h001.lk5qWzRwYs8x1mqbV6fJvpPR09pnBEqczJH7DDfQ8AY> 

Press release on Barclays 
<https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/u001.lmpSTrE-G07FKUPTdpC9IXsUcdarpKZHJmpSZvfqtuRGzfp13xpSQ9EVCGKkQoewexLBDnFzGbJBZ003P5avcDk5iLzK3AJaR0WvFt4v_N04TxTdmHTM5haqO-fHSqTBVh67P44ljxW9Ja8kHPUzCPZya_0DOQgOCfl4whNfw1-RpNcMHkGYXgpGos7Zzto5h3DAeGh5cC8mBDWMCk8PqArCjEOdcWlo5RJxaDaQtzgZLhA0Rj5Qbfyih6F7QYMBROz4V64Afj5RFl6LGrggXdY41KQ7hXSkT614h2IQdVmIqTt7TED-2Q2ji7NBZcr8s-P7Z5XYk60-nsY9gwYpEA/4b3/dxB-heOQSmmeGExcxOQudg/h5/h001.iMZmAwFqgD2u5e3ZdEAhvInOmEe17km6dshUZxLmD1A> 

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