Subsidiary of Israeli Weapons Manufacturer Exits Raleigh After Activist Pressure |
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In the waning days of December, a small group of pro-Palestine activists did what many people around the country were also doing — they went to the mall. Brier Creek Commons in Raleigh, North Carolina, is always busy with holiday shoppers close to Christmastime, and this year was no exception. However, the activists — members of Triangle BDS, the international Boycott Divest Sanctions (BDS) movement’s branch in what is known as the Research Triangle in central North Carolina — had another agenda. In a tucked-away portion of the shopping complex, a military technology corporation named Logos Technologies had quietly been churning out surveillance and sensor systems to be used both domestically and abroad — and the activists wanted the company out.
Logos Technologies was purchased in 2022 by a subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America, the U.S. branch of the Israeli weapons company that manufactures up to 85% of the Israeli military’s land-based equipment and has been a prime target of pro-Palestine activists across the globe since the start of the genocide in Gaza. Raleigh activists also accuse Logos of providing aerial surveillance for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol, the U.S. military, and police departments. The company’s website boasts a laundry list of clients which include in the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and the U.S military.
Initially, the activists’ campaign, which began last spring, had seemed like a long shot. Logos had been operating in Raleigh for more than two decades, and its office — branded online as a center of the company’s research and development — sprawled thousands of square feet.
However, in October, following outcry and protests from local pro-Palestine organizers, the company removed the Raleigh branch’s listing from its website. Captures of the page on the Internet Archive show the Raleigh location still listed as late as Oct. 10, but the page now only shows Logos’ headquarters and one other office in Fairfax,........