Israeli companies crack down on coverage at London arms fair
Israeli companies crack down on coverage at London arms fair
Attendees at this week's DSEI arms fair in London say they were stopped from taking photographs of Israeli companies' displays, with one journalist forced to delete his photos.
One of the largest arms fairs in Europe, the biennial event is a frequent target of protest, but has come under unprecedented scrutiny this year amid growing condemnation of Israel's continuing assault on Gaza where more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed and Israel stands accused of waging genocide and starving the population.
The UK government barred the Israeli government from having an official delegation at the expo, yet 51 Israeli arm markers are exhibiting at the event which has drawn hundreds of protesters and closes on Friday.
Exhibitors include Israel's three biggest arms firms: Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Two attendees told Middle East Eye separately that they were warned by security guards and Elbit Systems employees not to take photographs of the company’s stand as well as the adjoining IAI display.
One of the attendees said she was taking photos of both companies' displays when she was approached by a man who she believes worked for Elbit Systems.
She said he told her: "I've seen you take a few pictures and there is no media coverage of these companies this year."
Later in the day, a journalist, who declined to be named to be able to continue reporting on the event, said he had his phone taken from him, with an Elbit Systems employee going through his photographs and deleting them.
He was told he could not take photographs “because there’s a risk that people here are going to be targeted”.
Both attendees said they had been able to take photos at every other stall.
The journalist said: “When I stopped taking photos, the guard said, ‘Can I just go through your camera?’”Another man then came over and told the journalist to delete his photographs, as well as taking his name tag from him.
“He repeated my name at me in a way that was meant to be threatening, I suppose,” the journalist told MEE.
MEE has sought comments from Clarion Events, DSEI's organiser, Elbit Systems and IAI.
According to MEE’s sources, the 51 Israeli exhibitors at the arms fair this week are a jump from the number that were on display in 2023. All would have been approved by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
The organisers of the fair made it much more difficult to access the full exhibitors list, multiple attendees said, and even shared the list late with the exhibitors themselves.
Elbit’s UK and Swedish subsidiaries had concessions at the fair, though they did not have any “offensive” tech on display.
According to attendees, Elbit’s Hermes 900 drone, which has been used in Gaza, was on display, as well as its Skylark 3 drone.
Aeronautics, an Israeli defence contractor, marketed products that have been deployed in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and elsewhere over the last two years as “combat proven”.
