Anti-Genocide Activists Target Israeli Drone Manufacturer in Brooklyn

https://truthout.org/

Anti-Genocide Activists Target Israeli Drone Manufacturer in Brooklyn

Activists hope to evict Easy Aerial from its headquarters for providing drones and software to the Israeli military.

By Arvind Dilawar , TRUTHOUT
Published December 19, 2024

On December 11, activists opposing the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip picketed the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City for the fifth time since September. The activists, collectively known as Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard (DBNY), seek to pressure the manufacturing complex’s board of directors to evict two tenants connected to the Israeli military: Crye Precision, which produces camouflage and tactical gear, and Easy Aerial, which produces drones and related software.

Easy Aerial has come under pressure from activists following a report from the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in November, which not only describes the Israeli assault on Gaza as “consistent with the characteristics of genocide,” but specifically highlights “the use by Israel of artificial intelligence in directing its military campaign.” The report explicitly points out the complicity of businesses that provide such technology.

Since October 2023, the Israeli genocide in Gaza has killed at least 44,000 Palestinians, including 17,000 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health as cited by Al Jazeera. The true toll of the genocide, obscured by the ongoing Israeli attacks and blockade, as well as a propaganda campaign by Israel, may top 330,000 deaths by the end of the year, according to estimates published in The Guardian.

… more …