How Elbit Systems Planted A Story About Palestine Action

Quick Overview

The video reveals that Elbit Systems' UK PR firm, CMS Strategic, actively planted a story in The Times suggesting the UK Home Office was investigating Palestine Action for possible Iranian funding, with the aim of influencing the decision to ban the group and ultimately chilling civil liberties, as evidenced by the firm's director claiming credit for placing the story.

Key Points: Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist group in July 2025, leading to arrests of protestors for activities like holding signs of support. The Times published a story on June 23, 2025, claiming the Home Office was investigating Palestine Action over possible Iranian funding, which the Home Office later denied recognizing when approached by Private Eye. CMS Strategic, Elbit's UK PR firm, is implicated in planting the story about Palestine Action, with its Managing Director, Georgia Pickering, claiming credit for getting the story into newspapers. Elbit Systems, Israel's largest military manufacturer with several UK sites, subsequently lobbied the Home Office for a retrial after charges against Palestine Action co-founders were dismissed, according to declassified documents shown. The closure of an Elbit Systems UK site in Bristol in September 2025 followed months of protests by Palestine Action, some of which resulted in activists receiving jail time. The overall strategy, according to the analysis, is for the government and media to create a narrative that normalizes the criminalization of Palestine Action and scares the public by linking them to terrorism, thereby suppressing dissent. The government's response, including introducing the Crime and Policing Bill to restrict protests, is seen as laying groundwork for using anti-terror measures against peaceful dissent.

Context: The video discusses the political and media maneuvering surrounding the banning of the Palestine Action group in the UK. Palestine Action is known for its direct action campaigns targeting companies like Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer with UK operations. The discussion centers on allegations that Elbit's PR firm actively sought to influence the government's decision to proscribe the group by planting suggestive stories in major media outlets, linking the activists to foreign influence.