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What is Elbit Systems, and why did LA synagogue protesters target the Israeli company?
A protest outside Wilshire Boulevard Temple — one of Los Angeles’ oldest synagogues — ended with two arrests Wednesday after demonstrators confronted attendees at an event featuring a speaker from Elbit Systems, the Israeli defense firm whose technology is widely used by Israel’s military and, in some cases, by U.S. law-enforcement and border-security agencies.
Videos posted online showed protesters gathering outside the synagogue’s Audrey Irmas Pavilion, unfurling banners that read “Elbit out of Los Angeles” and “Genociders not welcome.” They handed out flyers accusing the company of supplying “weapons and technology that Israel uses against Palestinian civilians” and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses in the U.S.
The reaction was swift. “This behavior is abhorrent and has no place in Los Angeles,” Mayor Karen Bass said. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles called the demonstration “antisemitism and hate disguised as dissent,” while ADL California said, “Blocking or invading a house of worship is not legitimate protest. It’s intimidation.”
The confrontation underscored the growing attention on Elbit Systems — and the tensions that surround it.
What is Elbit Systems?
Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest privately run defense contractor. Founded in 1966, it has evolved into a multinational firm that manufactures drones, surveillance systems, border-security towers, targeting equipment, and other military electronics used by Israel and a number of foreign governments.
The company has roughly 20,000 employees — most based in Israel — with offices around the globe. Its U.S. subsidiary operates facilities across the country and has long supplied equipment to American defense and homeland-security agencies.
Elbit did not respond to a request for an interview.
Why does Elbit draw protests?
Two main issues animate opposition: Elbit’s role in Israeli military operations and its work for U.S. law enforcement.
Flyers at Wednesday’s demonstration accused the company of producing technology “used against Palestinian civilians.” Protest organizers argue that Elbit’s equipment enables Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Palestinian Youth Movement, one of the groups involved in the synagogue protest in Koreatown, wrote on Instagram: “We KNOW that these technologies are created on the targeting and killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and will do the same to vulnerable communities in Ktown.”
Protest literature also claimed Elbit provides surveillance tools used by ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The company has received contracts to build border-surveillance towers and related systems along parts of the U.S.–Mexico border. It is also on a list of potential contractors for the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense program, a project inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome.
U.S. Elbit facilities are protest sites
Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Elbit Systems of America employs around 3,200 people across 10 states. Several of their U.S. facilities have been the sites of protests.
Merrimack, New Hampshire: An Elbit plant was targeted by pro-Palestinian activists, some of whom climbed onto the roof, deployed smoke devices, spray-painted equipment, smashed windows, and locked building entrances. Among those arrested in the Nov. 2023 incident was a former Disney Channel actress.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: There were repeated protests at this facility beginning in Oct. 2023, five days after the Hamas attack that started the war in Gaza. The office eventually closed down in Aug. 2024.
Ladson, South Carolina: There have been weekly protests at Elbit’s Charleston-area facility since Oct. 2024, with criticism over tax incentives granted to the company. Demonstrators have questioned whether public funds should support a defense-industry site.
Protests are not just in the United States
Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, several Elbit facilities in the United Kingdom have been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists — including six who are currently on trial over a 2024 break-in at an Elbit site in Bristol. One is accused of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer. The Bristol facility unexpectedly closed down in September.
In Britain, the government is defending its decision to ban Palestine Action — a group that has repeatedly targeted Elbit facilities — under anti-terror laws. The ban makes membership or public support for the group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Last month, activists in six countries — Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Taiwan and the U.K. — simultaneously defaced the offices of Allianz, a global insurer that allegedly undewrites Elbit Systems.
Why did the L.A. protest take place at a synagogue?
Wednesday’s talk — titled “Innovating Safety, Empowering Communities” — outside Wilshire Boulevard Temple was co-hosted by the Israeli Consulate General of Los Angeles and included speakers from Elbit, the Israeli police, and the local Jewish federation.
Activist groups, including Koreatown for Palestine, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and People’s City Council Los Angeles, urged supporters to contact the synagogue and arrive early to picket the event.
Jewish leaders argued that demonstrating outside a house of worship crossed a line. Protest organizers framed the action around the event itself and Elbit’s participation in it.
What happens next?
Jewish institutions say they face heightened security concerns when Israel-related events take place in their buildings. Last month, protesters demonstrated at Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue, which was hosting a program on immigration to Israel, including West Bank settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani faced criticism from parts of the Jewish community after he said, through a spokesperson, that “sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” Dozens of Jewish groups plan a solidarity rally Thursday night outside Park East.
On Wednesday, a group of New York lawmakers proposed banning protests within 25 feet of houses of worship — the latest indication of how rapidly the debate over safety, speech, and protest is shifting.
Louis Keene contributed to this article.
The post What is Elbit Systems, and why did LA synagogue protesters target the Israeli company? appeared first on The Forward.
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Deal With US Within Reach ‘Only if Diplomacy Is Given Priority,’ Iran’s Foreign Minister Says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a press conference following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool
Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that a deal with the US was “within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority,” days ahead of an expected fresh round of talks between the two sides in Geneva.
The talks are set to take place on Thursday in Geneva, a senior US official said on Monday, with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner slated to meet with an Iranian delegation for the negotiations.
The two countries resumed negotiations earlier this month as the US builds up its military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the region if it is attacked.
“We have a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement that addresses mutual concerns and achieves mutual interests,” Araqchi said in a post on X.
The Iranian top diplomat said his country would resume the talks with “a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal in the shortest possible time.”
Earlier, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Iran was ready to take all necessary steps to reach a deal with the United States.
“We are ready to reach an agreement as soon as possible. We will do whatever it takes to make this happen. We will enter the negotiating room in Geneva with complete honesty and good faith,” Takht-Ravanchi said in comments carried by state media.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s “first option” was always diplomacy but that he was “willing to use lethal force” if necessary.
“The president is always the final decision maker around here,” she told reporters at the White House.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran would seriously consider a combination of sending half of its most highly enriched uranium abroad, diluting the rest, and taking part in creating a regional enrichment consortium – an idea periodically raised during years of Iran-linked diplomacy.
Iran would do this in return for US recognition of Iran‘s right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment” under a deal that would also include lifting economic sanctions, the official said.
“If there is an attack or aggression against Iran, we will respond according to our defense plans … A US attack on Iran is a real gamble,” Takht-Ravanchi added.
Indirect talks between the two sides last year brought no agreement, primarily due to friction over a US demand that Iran forgo uranium enrichment on its soil, which Washington views as a pathway to a nuclear bomb.
Iran has always denied seeking such weapons.
The US joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites last June, effectively curtailing Iran‘s uranium enrichment, with Trump saying its key nuclear sites were “obliterated.” But Iran is still believed to possess stockpiles enriched previously, which Washington wants it to relinquish.
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Australia Begins Inquiry Into Antisemitism After Bondi Shooting
An Australian flag sits amongst floral tributes honoring the victims of a shooting at Jewish holiday celebration on Sunday at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australia on Tuesday opened a government-backed inquiry into antisemitism, after a mass shooting at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach killed 15 people in December 2025.
The attack at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration shocked a country with strict gun laws and fueled calls for tougher controls and stronger action against antisemitism.
The Royal Commission, the most powerful type of government inquiry in Australia which can compel people to give evidence, will be led by retired judge Virginia Bell.
It will consider the events of the shooting as well as antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia, and is expected to report its findings by December this year.
In her opening statement at a court in Sydney on Tuesday, Bell said security arrangements for the event would form a major part of the commission.
“The commission needs to investigate the security arrangements for that event, and to report on whether our intelligence and law enforcement agencies performed to maximum effectiveness,” Bell said.
Police say the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were inspired by Islamic State.
Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while Naveed Akram, who was also shot but survived, is currently facing charges including 15 counts of murder and a terror offense.
INQUIRY SCOPE LIMITED
Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, no potential witnesses in Akram’s trial will be called to give evidence to the commission, Bell said.
Bell said she plans to meet with victims’ families in private to explain some of the limitations of her inquiry.
Richard Lancaster, the top lawyer assisting Bell with the inquiry, said his team had sent dozens of requests to government and other agencies to produce documentary evidence, but the level of responses is “not presently where we would like it to be.”
There was no testimony heard or evidence given on Tuesday, and the commission is yet to determine when it will next sit.
Michele Goldman, CEO of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said after the hearing that the inquiry would be an opportunity to showcase the community’s “horrific” experiences of antisemitism.
But some people directly impacted by the attack would find it “very hard” to be barred from sharing their accounts with the inquiry, she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had initially resisted calls to set up a Royal Commission, saying the process would take years, which attracted criticism from Jewish groups and victims’ families.
The Bondi attack followed a spate of antisemitic incidents in the country, including the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue.
The government has already responded by tightening gun laws and introducing new legislation against hate speech.
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Iran Issues Death Sentence Linked to January Protests, Source Says
A February 2023 protest in Washington, DC calling for an end to executions and human rights violations in Iran. Photo: Reuters/ Bryan Olin Dozier
A revolutionary court in Tehran has issued a death sentence for an Iranian man accused of “enmity against god,” which if confirmed would be the first such sentence linked to mass protests in January, a source close to the man’s family said.
The source told Reuters on Tuesday that Iran‘s judiciary had not yet announced the sentence against the man, Mohammad Abbasi, and that Iran‘s Supreme Court was yet to uphold it.
Abbasi was accused of killing a security officer, an allegation his family denied, the source said.
Rights groups say thousands of people were killed in a crackdown on the protests, the worst domestic unrest in Iran since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
During the unrest, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that he could order military action if it carried out executions.
The source said the defendant’s daughter, Fatemeh Abbasi, was handed a 25-year prison sentence over her role in protests.
“The defendants do not have access to the lawyer they wanted, and were given a public defender,” the source added.