After a year-long campaign against its premises by Palestine Action and local community groups, Barclays PLC has sold all of its shareholdings in Elbit Systems Ltd (ELST). Until recently, Barclays owned over 16,000 shares in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company.
Starting just over one year ago, Palestine Action’s campaign saw activists undertake 54 actions against Barclays premises nation-wide. Smashing branch windows, spraying them in blood-red paint, many of these actions put Barclays sites out of operation for weeks, actions which sought to raise the costs associated with dealing with Elbit.
In the latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, Barclays owned 0 shares in Elbit Systems Ltd (ELST) [1], down 16,345 since the previous filing, 15th May 2024, worth over $3,400,000 [2].
Until then, recent filings had showed Barclays’ Elbit shareholdings at record high quantities [3], having steadily increased from zero ten years ago. The most recent SEC filings and NASDAQ data record an immediate total sale of Barclays’ ELST shares [4], abruptly sold just when Palestine Action’s campaign hit them hardest.
i remember being ecstatic when hawaii enacted same sex marriage in 1993. it came during a time when even our own allies where mulling over how aggressively to persue kicking out us out of the military. those same allies five years before warned us about the evil gays in biden’s 1988 presidential campaign and those same allies would enact anti-gay marriage 3 years later when clinton did anti-gay marriage.
i already knew that the hawaii victory would likely be overturned in the supreme court; but i was ecstatic for the victory anyways and it reminded me of the 1980’s; hearing of victories that seem small by today’s standards but held significance to us and served as a start and i think that this is something like that for the gazans. Barclay’s has no sway with the UN and has to army to stop the genocide; but they did what they could and use actions instead of words in situations were people are being killed as we speak.
👏👏