Barclays divests from Israel’s largest weapon firm Elbit : Valley Vision

British banking giant Barclays has sold all its shares in the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems following 54 operations launched by the UK-based activist group Palestine Action.

Until recently, Barclays held over 16,000 shares in Elbit Systems.

Barclays’s latest filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal a total sale of its holdings—16,345 shares worth over $3.4 million—in Elbit, a company often criticised for supplying the Israeli military.

Prior to this, recent filings had shown Barclays’ holdings in Elbit at record-high levels, having grown from zero over the past decade.

Elbit Systems is a major supplier to the Israeli military, providing a significant portion of Israel’s drones, along with mortar ammunition and artillery rockets currently used in Gaza.

A 2022 report published by Campaign Against Arms Trade and War on Want, titled “Barclays: Arming Apartheid,” revealed that UK banking giant Barclays provides billions of pounds in investments, loans, and financial services to arms companies, including Elbit Systems, known to supply Israel with weapons used to suppress the Palestinian people.

“Barclays is complicit in Israel’s grave violations of Palestinian rights,” stated the report.

Palestine Action claimed the immediate sale of Barclays’ shares was the outcome of the year-long campaign against Barclays by Palestine Action and local community groups.

Palestine Action’s campaign targeting Barclays included smashing branch windows and spraying them with blood-red paint; many of these actions rendered Barclays sites inoperable for weeks, aiming to raise the costs of supporting Elbit.

These actions are part of Palestine Action’s four-year campaign against the premises of Elbit Systems and its financial and industrial partners.

In a statement on its website, a spokesperson from Palestine Action said, “Through a focused strategy, direct action has achieved multiple successes and forced the hands of many complicit institutions. We will remain committed and focused on the task at hand and target any and all institutions and businesses that enable Israel’s biggest weapons firm to maintain their genocidal operations. If Barclays reinvests in Elbit Systems in the future, Palestine Action will come knocking again.”

The campaign has led to the permanent shutdown of two Elbit weapons factories in Britain and forced several partners to cease relations with Elbit. Recently, activists targeted over a dozen premises in Britain belonging to Allianz, a major shareholder and insurer of Elbit.

Since June, Palestine Action activist Francesca Nadin has been awaiting trial after being arrested and charged with “conspiracy to commit criminal damage” against Barclays and JP Morgan.

In an open letter dated September 9, Francesca Nadin wrote, “They punish us because they’re scared. They know our actions are costing their precious corporations—Barclays is under immense pressure, Elbit Systems is being chased out, and Scotia Bank is feeling the heat of its complicity. Their scare tactics will not work. In fact, they are a rallying call. We must fight back with everything we’ve got—not just for Palestine but for our own rights to free speech and protest. We must speak out against injustice everywhere.”

Including Nadin, there are 16 political prisoners from Palestine Action in the UK.