Dear friends,
We are finally in court!

I've been unable to update you on the legal proceedings up until the trial started due to reporting restrictions, whereby only what has already been shown to the jury is allowed for reporting and not the legal proceedings leading up to it.

The 3rd week of the trial is over. We started on Jan 8th, having a week off on the week of the 22nd. We are now expecting the verdict to be given sometime during mid to end of the coming week.

There is also an amazing show of support and I'd like to say thanks to all of you - those who message, those who show up at court, those who opened their homes to host us and those who've been cooking and hosting us defendants and supporters at The Palestine Museum throughout the trial.

Listen to The Bristol Cable podcast:

You may remember that initially 9 people got arrested. This trial - known as #Bristol7 - is for the 7 of us who entered the building. At this point of the trial we have all given our testimonies. I will just add that I'm proud to be on trial with this amazing group of people!

I had two friends in court who gave testimony as my character witnesses: Mohammed Alzaza, survivor of a direct drone attack in Gaza, and Dr. Yaar Dagan, lecturer of law and an Israeli conscientious objector whose PhD concerns settler-colonialism and the use of drones in Gaza.

Elbit VP of Sales and UAV Engines Director, Mr. Alan Wright, also gave his testimony. This included the fact that UAV Engines exports its engine to Israeli state-owned IAI. This engine is used in its line of suicide drones (for more see video and article). Here is also a video on the importance of UAV Engines' equipment which is used in Elbit's Hermes 450 and regarded as the horror of the people of Gaza:

Last Friday the prosecution gave its closing statement. The defence closing statements will be given during the coming days. I couldn't be prouder of going through it all with my wonderful co-defendants. At the same time we are all devastated to see that despite our best efforts, we did not manage to stop the genocide, which is aided and abetted by the UK government and being live streamed in front of our very eyes. There is absolutely no doubt that Elbit is one of the most barbaric and criminal companies out there.

Why this fundraiser?
Of the 7 defendants, I am the only one who was denied legal-aid and need to cover the entire legal expenses, standing at £50,000. As appeared in a previous update, Mr. Roger Waters matched your donations and kindly covered £20,000 of the given expenses. Therefore, I still need to raise at least £30,000 on this platform. I truly hope that you may help me reach this goal. Every bit of help is deeply appreciated. Thank you!

May we shut Elbit down and free Palestine,
- ronnie

THE TRIAL HAS BEEN POSTPONED!

Dear Friends,
Here is a quick update on the #Elbit9 trial in Bristol.

First off, thank you for all the good wishes for the trial. Even though we are very much looking forward for our day in court, this day has been pushed back.

On May 2nd there will be 2-3 days of legal argumentation at the Bristol Crown Court where our attendance is required. This is the initial stage of the trial, only then will the judge set a date for holding the actual jury trial and it seems that this may be set as far as 2024. Indeed, it is very annoying and I will only be able to update on the new date during the hearing of early May.

On the bright side - the strict bail conditions, including house arrest for two of us, have been lifted yesterday. After almost a year we are finally allowed to make contact among the co-defendants, while Stav and myself are no longer tagged and are free to travel and carry on with our lives.

https://twitter.com/BrightonBDS/status/1647161939045552132

The planned trial should be an interesting one and as mentioned above I am looking forward to it and to putting Elbit on trial!

The trial has been postponed but is still very much ongoing, so this Crowdjustice campaign is more relevant than ever. Please carry on sharing it among your contacts.

Trial updates will first appear on my twitter feed @ronnie_barkan before being posted elsewhere, so please stay tuned for that.

#ElbitIsGuilty!
#ShutElbitDown!

Thank you!
ronnie

Dear Friends,

Next week we will be going to court and putting Elbit on trial.
On Monday, April 17th, nine activists will appear before the Bristol Crown Court for the actions against Elbit Systems headquarters in Bristol, which took place on Nakba Day last year - May 15th 2022.

The Nakba is not merely a historical event, it is an ongoing process that has been continuing, day and night, for the past 75 years. Maintaining the ongoing Nakba, maintaining the criminal and barbaric siege of Gaza, committing The Crime of Apartheid and what experts deem to be The Crime of Genocide, these are some of the crimes that Elbit Systems is actively engaged in. Their role in these crimes is not by proxy but an active one, with its own people perpetrating the crime alongside Israeli armed forces.

[This video was taken outside Southwark Crown Court on the evening before the #Kingsway5 were acquitted of all wrongdoing]


The trial will be an important one and I am looking forward to it. Key issues should be discussed, some significant witnesses are scheduled to appear, while two of the defendants also happen to be Israeli dissidents.

In the coming days and weeks I will be sharing with you further updates, depending on legal considerations. Other than publishing here, you are invited to follow the developments on my twitter feed @ronnie_barkan, on @Pal_action's or twitter search for the #Elbit9 hashtag.


Before ending this update I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your help with my legal defense.

With your help we have managed to raise a large part of my legal fees and I can now focus on the trial rather than its financial cost as I am being denied legal aid. I am deeply grateful for your generosity and solidarity!

As you may know, Roger Waters has kindly offered to match any donations 1:1 up to an amount of $20,000. So please help me spread the word, perhaps we can still reach $30,000.



Until equality and return,
Ronnie

Dear Friends,

I've got some exciting news to share with you.

Roger Waters, the rock legend and all-round extraordinary human being, has generously offered to MATCH ANY DONATION to my legal fund up to $20,000.

I am extremely grateful to Roger and to all of you who have been donating and simply request that you spread the news so that others can take advantage of Roger’s offer to help fight against the Israeli death machine and end its seven decades of ongoing crimes against humanity.

This is not just about me, but about all the fine folks at Palestine Action. Please take the time to educate, share and support the #ElbitEight in their trial which is set for October 10th at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Finally, I cannot end without also acknowledging the 40th anniversary to the Sabra and Shatila massacre, which we mark today. The extent of Israeli involvement, including the heavy arms trade and military training that was supplied to the perpetrators of the massacre has recently been uncovered. To save the victims of the next massacre - Israel's ongoing Nakba and crimes against humanity must be stopped.

We will not be silent.
Thank you.

Dear friends,

We have crossed the 5K mark within 3 days and I can't thank you enough for your generous donations to my legal defence. The process I am forced to go through is quite challenging, not to mention the strict bail conditions, but knowing that I am not alone during this process and that there are people like you who care and support truly makes it easier and motivates me to push forward with the struggle.

Frankly, I am looking forward for the trial and I'm sure that it'll be an interesting one, it's the time in between that is the most challenging. If you happen to be in the UK then please mark your diaries for April 17th, 2023, when the trial commences (another has not been set yet).

Since the needed amount is far away and since apartheid has not yet been abolished, I hope that you may help in spreading the word about my campaign, about Palestine Action's work and about Elbit Systems' and Israel's seven decades of ongoing crimes against humanity. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any question or comment at: [email protected]

Thanks again to each and every one of you.
ronnie

==

Some example tweets for this fundraiser:
https://twitter.com/ronnie_barkan/status/1556672782708137984
https://twitter.com/Pal_action/status/1557383435886419968
https://twitter.com/swilkinsonbc/status/1556693236906852359

An article from today in Czech (google translate or wait a bit for the English version):
https://a2larm.cz/2022/08/skupina-palestine-action-protestuje-proti-zbrojni-firme-britsky-parlament-kvuli-ni-projednava-novy-zakon/