Provided
LADSON, S.C. — More than 50 people gathered Saturday outside Elbit Systems in a protest organized by the Elbit Out of SC coalition as part of the International Day of Action on Oct. 4.
The demonstration marked one year of the coalition’s weekly picketing against the company’s Ladson facility, which opened in summer 2023 with tax incentives from Charleston County Council, including a fee-in-lieu-of-taxation deal that has faced increased scrutiny.
Elbit Out of SC, founded in 2024, describes itself as a coalition of local groups and residents opposed to the weapons manufacturer’s presence in South Carolina and its role in supplying arms used in the Israel-Hamas war.
Speakers at the rally criticized Elbit Systems’ contracts with the Israeli military and voiced broader concerns about displacement and redevelopment in the Lowcountry. Participants included representatives from Free Palestine Charleston, Lowcountry Action Committee and the Charleston chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, among others.
“As a Palestinian-American physician, I am here not out of anger but out of a profound sense of duty to protect human life,” said Nizar Hurraa. “We are calling for the closure of this Elbit Systems facility because its products are used to harm civilians, including children, in Gaza and beyond.”
Tri-County Tenant Union member Ila Navarro drew comparisons between the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and the pressures facing Gullah Geechee families in Charleston.
The protest concluded with organizers pledging to return for their weekly picket on Thursday, Oct. 9.