<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/30/israeli-weapons-companies-elbit-rafael-should-be-removed-sydney-defence-expo-over-gaza>
"Two government MPs and human rights experts have called for Israel’s largest
weapons companies to be removed from a defence conference in Sydney next week,
which is sponsored by the state government.
The call comes after a UN commission of inquiry found Israel was committing
genocide in Gaza, and after warnings the Australian government may be breaching
its international obligations by trading with weapons companies linked to
alleged war crimes.
An Australian subsidiary of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems,
and the state-owned company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are listed as
exhibitors at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition. The event
will provide an opportunity to showcase weapons to buyers.
The companies have been criticised by a former member of the UN commission of
inquiry, Chris Sidoti, for being “key enablers of the Israel Defense Forces in
its commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the
Palestinian people in Gaza over the last two years”.
That claim has been supported by the Australian international law expert Donald
Rothwell, who said “the Israeli military-industrial complex is directly
implicated in Israel’s alleged acts of genocide in Gaza”.
The Labor MP Cameron Murphy, a long-term supporter of Palestine, said he was
“appalled we are hosting companies that are complicit in genocide to exhibit in
Sydney”.
“We’ve got serious legal obligations in terms of what we do, given the findings
about a plausible case for genocide, so why on earth are we allowing them to
exhibit?” Murphy said.
“It just seems extraordinary that we have an event like this with these people
involved. It becomes a lightning rod for action and protest.”
Elbit Systems and Rafael were both contacted for comment."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
