Gaza War Protesters Target Healdsburg Weapons Facility

You may have seen or heard the dozens of Gaza war protesters demonstrating in Healdsburg this morning, one day after major anti-war protests swept the nation. Down in the Bay Area, protesters halted traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and the 880 for hours yesterday, reportedly chaining themselves to 55-gallon drums filled with cement. And here in Healdsburg, starting around sunrise this morning, activists targeted the local offices of a large U.S. weapons manufacturer called General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, which they claim is behind some of the bombs that Israel is dropping on Gaza. General Dynamics is located in a big, nondescript building right next to our local post office on Foss Creek Circle, just off Grove Street — and has been for years, without much notice from neighbors. It’s the building in that inlet labeled “The Point at Foss Creek Circle.” The “Sonoma County for Palestine” activist group posted on Facebook this morning: “General Dynamics makes 2,000-pound bombs that have been linked to mass-casualty events in the genocide against Gaza, and they have a factory that makes weapons parts right here in Healdsburg.” Early this morning, protesters stretched a giant red banner saying “Block the Bombs: Free Palestine” across the General Dynamics driveway. They banged on drums, shouted into a megaphone and led call-and-response chants like “General Dynamics, you can’t hide; stop arming genocide.” The Press Democrat reports that General Dynamics is “the world’s sixth largest defense contractor,” and that “the aerospace defense company is headquartered in Virginia but has a facility in Healdsburg that produces guidance systems for tactical missiles and extended range munitions.” According to a brochure on the company’s website, the Healdsburg office is where they design and build their “control actuation systems” — aka, the guidance systems for weapons like tactical missiles. The company says its Healdsburg operations are “critical in providing high performance, superb quality, and low cost technically advanced systems to our customers and ultimately the war fighter.” Throughout the monthslong war in Gaza, there have reportedly been other protests at General Dynamics facilities across the U.S., including one yesterday in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. We’ll have a larger story on the Healdsburg demonstration, along with some more background on General Dynamics, in this week’s print issue of the Tribune, out Thursday. (Source: Sonoma County for Palestine via Facebook & Healdsburg Tribune via Instagram & General Dynamics & Press Democrat & CODEPINK & ABC7)