Picketers call for Bisalloy to can defence contracts

Wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of more than 100 activists outside Bisalloy Steel in Unanderra today (15 November).

Tiny tots to grandparents from Wollongong and across NSW took part in the fourth picket of the steel manufacturer, which has been the target of ongoing protests by opponents of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Well-known Illawarra community leader, Sally Stevenson, has just returned from providing aid in Gaza.

She threw her support behind the protest.

“The things we can do might feel a little small compared to the enormity of the problem,” she said.

“The situation over there is catastrophic. But these actions contribute.

“We’ve seen the shift in Australia with the government recognising Palestinian sovereignty; we’ve shut down Bisalloy on two separate occasions now and that affects their bottom line.

“We are calling to account politicians and businesses in Australia around their complicity in genocide, and it means a lot to people in Gaza.

“I was able to show them pictures of the rally in Wollongong and articles around Bisalloy and there’s a sense of solidarity around that, that they’re not being forgotten and they’re being supported.

“This action also supports Palestinian and Lebanese communities here in Wollongong.

“Trade permits are finally being reviewed after a year of pressure from the community and advocates asking for sanctions against Israel, and a number of those permits have been suspended because of potential contribution to lethal activity.

“Constant, consistent pressure is bearing results.”

Bisalloy’s Unanderra site is understood to be closed today. Bisalloy representatives had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

Illawarra sisters and Palestinians Safaa Rayan and Lena Moyazani have attended every picket.

They say their family in Palestine are not recognised as human beings.

“To know that a company so close to where I live is actively supporting the country responsible for the murder, displacement and imprisonment of our family members is profoundly disturbing,” said Safaa.

“Our aunt’s home has been demolished four times. Was it demolished using tanks equipped with Bisalloy Steel?

“Our family members who are in prison – were they rounded up and terrorised with vehicles made with Bisalloy Steel?”

“I just wonder when the CEOs and shareholders of Bisalloy will see our families as equally deserving of life as their own families.”

A spokesperson for Bisalloy previously said the company did not produce materials used in the manufacture of missiles, projectiles or other weapons, and that all exports had relevant government approvals.

In 2018 Bisalloy announced the $900,000 contract with Israeli-based defence contractor Rafael Advanced Defence Systems to provide steel for armour-plated vehicles and add-on armour.

Region Illawarra has asked Bisalloy on two occasions in 2024 whether that contract is ongoing. Bisalloy declined to respond.

Bisalloy also provides steel to at least two other defence manufacturers, Rheinmetal and Hanwha, to be used for armoured vehicle production.

Region Illawarra cannot confirm whether the armour-plated vehicles and add-on armour manufactured by these companies using Bisalloy Steel have been purchased by Israel or deployed in Gaza or the West Bank.

Spokespserson for the Wollongong Friends of Palestine group, Jett Hunt, said they would continue to take action “until Bisalloy divests completely from Israel”.

“Eighty-six years ago, on November 15, dockworkers refused to load iron ore at Port Kembla because they refused to aid and abet a genocide,” said Jet.

“We are picketing Bisalloy Steel for basically the same reasons – we don’t want Illawarra steel to aid and abet genocide in Palestine.”