7 arrested in Israel-targeted protest
Seven people were arrested Thursday morning, Feb. 29, during a civil disobedience protest in Amity Township in which as many as 30 people, including faith leaders from Berks County, blocked the access road to an industrial park that includes a subsidiary of a major weapons supplier to Israel.
The protest, held as part of a memorial service to the tens of thousands of civilians killed in the Israeli-Gaza war, was organized by a group calling itself Eastern Pennsylvania Against the War Economy.
The action began about 8 a.m. on Riga Lane off Route 422.
Participants placed rows of children’s shoes across the road to symbolize the Gazans killed during Israel’s bombardment in response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
They held banners proclaiming, “Good jobs don’t kill people,” and “Jobs for Peace Not for War” and sang hymns for peace and a cease-fire. Someone with a megaphone read names and ages of civilian victims.
The protest was intended to disrupt operations at Aydin Displays, a subsidiary of Israel-based Elbit Systems Ltd., an international military technology company and defense contractor.
Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military’s land-based equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to its website.
“The Birdsboro-facility is home to Aydin Displays, a subsidiary of Elbit America. Including our 65 employees at Birdsboro, Elbit America employs thousands of Americans who are dedicated to the mission of creating and providing innovative solutions to the U.S. Government and commercial customers that protect and save lives. While we support the rights of protesters to peacefully express their views, we also take the safety and well-being of our employees extremely seriously. We greatly appreciate the work today of local law enforcement to ensure safety for all,” said Elbit America leadership.
The Rev. Margaret Ernst, a Birdsboro-based pastor in the United Church of Christ, who led the service, told reporters that Christians, as with everyone else, have a role in stopping the war that has claimed the lives of thousands of children.
“Those weapons are being guided,” Ernst said. “We are very, very confident that they are being guided by displays that are made here in this facility behind me, Aydin Displays.”
Ernst said the group is appealing to the morality of Aydin managers to cut its ties with Elbit Systems and refuse to manufacture systems that guide weapons in Gaza.
“So we are here to say that we want jobs in Berks County that contribute to human flourishing and human life, not to death and destruction and genocide,” Ernst said.
The group not only disrupted traffic flow to the Aydin plant but other businesses along Riga Lane. Vehicles of employees arriving for work were backed up onto Route 422.
Amity police were called, and when officers arrived to investigate, they were met by leaders of the group who said they weren’t going anywhere.
The Amity officers called for assistance, and several
officers from neighboring Exeter Township arrived along with some state troopers and, eventually, Berks County deputy sheriffs.
About two dozen police vehicles lined the right shoulder of the eastbound lanes. The right lane of the divided highway was closed for about an hour.
About 9:15 a.m. a sufficient number of law enforcement officers had arrived, along with a prisoner transport vehicle from the sheriff’s office.
Amity Police Chief Jeffrey Smith gave the protesters their final warning: move to the side of the road or be arrested.
While most of the group abided, seven stood defiantly. The contingents of officers closed in and handcuffed them.
“I told them I recognized and support your right to protest,” Smith said afterward. “All they had to do was move to the side of the road.”
The following were arrested:
• Robert Bedford, 30, of Philadelphia
• Errin Fahey, 37, Bangor, Northampton County
• Jennifer Marer, 24, Hermosa Beach. Calif
• Samantha Roberson, 36, of Philadelphia
• Jessica Shen, 26, of Philadelphia
• Leah Shepperd, 48, of Philadelphia
• Nichola Torbett, 53, Oakland, Calif.
All were taken to the central processing center for arraignment on charges of disorderly conduct, defiant trespass and failure to disburse.