"I'm Jewish and my mum lost family in the Holocaust, another genocide is happening against Palestine in Gaza"

Roughly 100 demonstrators gathered outside the Lockheed Martin facility in Langstone Technology Park this morning (October 8) to oppose the company. Rob Ferguson, a Jewish pro-Palestinian activist, said the defence giant is actively aiding a “genocide” in Gaza.

The secretary of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Dorset branch told The News: “We have brought a coach of our supporters here today because Lockheed Martin is at the centre of the F-35 supply chain of arms and weapons supplies to Israel. The F-35s, day by day, are bombing hospitals, refugee camps, shelters, and schools in Israel.

“They are at the heart of the ongoing genocide. I’m personally here because I believe that none of us should be silent over a genocide, wherever it happens, whoever it happens to.”

Does Lockheed Martin directly supply Israel?

British supply components for F-35 fighter jets, made in the USA, are put into a global arms pool. Israel and the country’s Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have access to this and can purchase them.

The government suspended around 30 arms exports licences to Israel last September. This was due to fears of British weapons being used in atrocities in the Gaza Strip. The UK’s High Court rejected a case in June that would have stopped all UK-built F-35 spare parts being transferred to Israel through the global pool.

The government argued at the time that it could not pull out of the defence programme without endangering international peace, as reported in the BBC. Campaign Against the Arms Trade said around 15 per cent of every F-35 jet is made in the UK.

“Always side with the victim”

Protestors in Havant carried banners that read “end the genocide, stop arming Israel”, and “Palestinian lives matter”. A previous demonstration took place involving hundreds of demonstrators took place in June. When asked why he was protesting, Mr Ferguson said: “My mother’s family lost members of their family in the Holocaust.

“My mother came from Hungary, She escaped before the Second World War. Her mother and her sister did not. Too many voices were silent before and during that Holocaust.

“The lesson for me is this. You always side with the victim, regardless of their religion, colour, background, or nation. You always side with the victim against the oppressor, whoever you are. Otherwise, we all pay a price.”

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Mark Sage, branch secretary of Portsmouth and South Downs Palestine Solidarity Campaign, added: “The government continues to allow the export of weapons and components to Israel despite two years of genocide, which has killed many tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and caused almost incalculable devastation.

“Britain’s contribution to Israel’s F-35 fighter jets is one of the most shameful examples of this country’s involvement in Israel’s crimes. Inspired by mass strikes and blockades by workers in Italy to prevent arms being shipped to fuel the genocide, we will take our protests at this inhumanity to the gates of Lockheed Martin UK – to demand it stops making the components for this slaughter, and to call on the government to abide by its legal obligations and impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel.”

One eye-witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said protestors were chanting slogans such as “Israel is a terrorist state”. “This could be misconstrued,” he told The News. “As a member of a practicing Jewish family, this could cause incitement. I believe in free speech, but it has to be done carefully.”

A Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson said: “The protest was peaceful and passed without any incidents reported to police during the event. Our priority with protests is always public safety.

“Policing these events requires us to balance the rights of those lawfully protesting, and the rights of others to go about their lives without being subject to unacceptable disruption, whilst keeping the public safe.”

A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said: “We respect everyone’s right to protest peacefully and within the law. Lockheed Martin supports the defence and security of the UK, NATO, and their allies by providing equipment and capabilities under strict government oversight. All our exports follow rigorous regulations and are regularly reviewed by authorities in both the UK and the US.”