SACO — Demonstrators led by the Maine Coalition for Palestine rose early Jan. 3 in order to stage a protest outside of a General Dynamics factory on I-195 in Saco.
A group of about two dozen people protested outside the building for roughly four hours, demanding that General Dynamics “stop arming genocide.”
When contacted by the Biddeford Courier by phone on Jan. 9, the Saco factory declined to comment on the protest.
Over the past four months, protests have taken place worldwide and in Maine calling for a cease-fire and denouncing the Israeli government’s ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel.
Demonstrations in solidarity with Israeli government have also taken place.
Hamas — which runs Gaza — killed some 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took roughly 240 hostages on Oct. 7. Israel has responded with airstrikes on Gaza as well as a ground invasion. As of Jan. 9, more than 23,000 people have died in the enclave as a result, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Nearly 60,000 have been injured and thousands more are missing or presumed dead.
“The war machine and the United States’ relationship to Israel is one that goes beyond democracy,” said Tanvi Koushik, a protester who joined the action outside of the General Dynamics and spoke with the Biddeford Courier later that week.
The United States sends $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel, and in December the White House twice side stepped congressional approval in order to send additional arms to the longstanding U.S. ally.
The protestors had minimal interaction with General Dynamics workers, Koushik said, who used a back road to get to the building.
The plant is across from Sweetser’s Eslie J. Parquette School in Saco, and the action coincided with the start of the school day.
General Dynamics — the world’s 6th largest defense company — is the sole producer of MK-82 bombs, which have been used by Israel in its military campaign in Gaza, according to December reporting from the Financial Times. In early 2023, the Defense Department announced that half of a $32 million dollar delivery order to produce “Guided Missile MK 82 directors” would be performed at the General Dynamics facility in Saco.
Yusuf Ebrahim, a Portland-based health care worker who attended the action, said he thinks it’s a “very safe assumption” that the missile directors produced in Saco are being used to carry out Israel’s campaign.
The Jan. 3 action follows a December protest at Bath Iron Works, a shipbuilder for the United States Navy that is owned by General Dynamics.
Two Bath Iron Works built ships are currently deployed in the Middle East, as fighting in the region threatens to spillover into a larger regional conflict.
Over 200 people attended that action and made similar demands to protestors in Saco. They called for an end to the U.S. “war machine” and urged that tax dollars be re-routed to economically challenged Mainers.
A number of groups, including Healthcare Workers for Palestine, the Maine Natural Guard, the Maine Party for Socialism & Liberation, Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights, Portland CONFRONT, and some chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine are all a part of the Maine Coalition for Palestine.
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