On the morning of May 10, pro-Palestine activists blockaded the premises of Bisalloy Steels in Unanderra for their role in arming the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The picket, organised by Wollongong Friends of Palestine, targeted Bisalloy due to their contract with the Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.
Bisalloy announced their partnership with Rafael in October 2017, and signed a contract for Bisalloy’s materials to be used in add-on armour for armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) the following year.
The Haifa-based defence firm Rafael Systems was founded in 1948 as a laboratory for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). Although it was incorporated in 2002 as a limited company, the firm remains owned by the Israeli government.
Bisalloy has been the target of previous actions. A sit-in occurred in January and a lock-on that shutdown operations occurred in April of this year.
Palestinian social worker and local resident of the area Safaa Rayan spoke at the picket, stating that Bisalloy’s role in the supply chain arming genocide in Palestine “feels like a personal attack as this company aids in the murder of my cousins and their children.”
Many of the picketers were parents who brought their children before the school and work day began. Rayan stated that it is ordinary families who “are saying no to profiteering off death starvation, destruction, and invasion” and “no to the colonial project that constantly sees the destruction of indigenous peoples all over the world.”
A speaker from Wollongong Against War and Nukes (WAWAN) highlighted the manufacturing skills present in the Illawarra but expressed deep disappointment that it was being used for war profiteering instead of pressing issues like the climate crisis. WAWAN was founded to fight against the Morrison government’s intention to build a nuclear submarine base at Port Kembla.
He noted the importance of identifying “places like Bisalloy that are contributing to [us] getting drawn into the global war industry” and to fight against “our industries, our jobs, our communities” from being used for the war machine.
An speaker from the encampment at the University of Wollongong (UoW) — established following the first Australian Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the University of Sydney — expressed disgust that research at the university is funnelled “towards militarism and destruction.”
“The research is not to make the world a better place but to make material / steel that is able to run over Palestinian homes, Palestinian olive groves, and Palestinian people.”
The Bisalloy action is part of a global movement to disrupt supply chains that aid and arm the genocide in Gaza. Organisers from Wollongong Friends of Palestine have expressed their intent to return to picket Bisalloy until it terminates its contract with Rafael, stating “we will continue to target Bisalloy until its executives find some humanity and stop supplying Israel.”
The next action to target supply chains will occur on May 25. A nationwide protest targeting the ZIM shipping line is scheduled, with the Sydney picket happening at Port Botany from 12pm. Visit Palestine Justice Movement’s Instagram for more information.
