Today a group of Lowcountry residents gathered to demonstrate against President Joe Biden’s visit to Charleston on his final full day in office. Community members came together in protest of the President's unconditional support for Israel's violence against Palestinians, despite outcry from the international community, including here in the Lowcountry.
Local preschool teacher Gia Ellis said, “Today, while we rejoice along with the Palestinian people at the start of the ceasefire as an effort to save lives after fifteen months of resisting genocide, we highlight Biden’s direct role in genocide by supplying weapons to Israel and obstructing ceasefire negotiations.”
Critics argue that Biden's unwavering support for Israel, particularly in the face of at least 46,000 Palestinian casualties, has resulted in a humanitarian crisis that has exacerbated underlying issues of injustice and inequality. Protesters have called for a more balanced foreign policy that prioritizes human rights and demands a renewed commitment to a solution that respects the dignity and self-determination of Palestinians.
A number of the residents who joined in the protest today are members of the Elbit Out of SC coalition, which has been working for months to bring attention to Elbit Systems LLC, an Israeli weapons manufacturer with a facility in Ladson. Elbit Systems, LLC is an American subsidiary of the larger Israeli company Elbit Systems, Ltd., which supplies a majority of weapons used by Israel on Palestinians.
The Ladson facility received a package of tax breaks, including a $700,000 Set-Aside grant from the SC Coordinating Council for Economic Development, and a Fee in Lieu of Taxation (FILOT) agreement with Charleston County that will reduce the private company’s property taxes for decades to come.
The coalition recognizes this as a continuation of the Lowcountry’s role in human rights atrocities in history, starting with the ports through which most enslaved Africans were brought to this country, on which the International African American History Museum stands today.
