Free the Ulm5 – Nationwide demonstration in Stuttgart

Shut Elbit down

Elbit Systems is the largest Israeli defense company, producing, among other things, ammunition, information technology and 85% of all drones used in the Gaza genocide. Elbit thus benefits directly from the mass murder, expulsion and surveillance of the population of Palestine and is a contributor to the genocide. In addition, war equipment and surveillance technology are used worldwide to monitor borders, wage wars and enable the violent assertion of states' economic and political interests. With the direct action against Elbit Systems, the Ulm5 are specifically targeting a beneficiary of the genocide. In doing so, they join an international movement in which activists worldwide carry out direct actions against Elbit locations. And it was successful: In England, repeated campaigns led to production facilities having to be permanently closed.

Germany's reason of state

The German government supports Israel politically, economically and militarily: through arms deliveries, military cooperation, diplomatic support and the repression against the Palestine movement in this country. In doing so, it not only denies its own complicity in the genocide, but also benefits directly from the genocide. The German arms industry is currently recording record profits. The rearmament and militarization of Germany and other countries is increasing unchecked.

The counterpart to this foreign policy is domestic repression. Demonstrations are banned and kept down with police force, organizations are criminalized, German citizenship is denied and linked to the commitment to “Israel’s right to exist”. This state harshness is intended to secure German support for Israel and at the same time deter other parts of the Palestine movement from protest and resistance.

The proceedings against Ulm5 are taking place in this context. The relocation of the regular regional court proceedings to Stuttgart-Stammheim deliberately brings the process closer to terrorism. This is also evident in the courtroom: The Ulm5 have to follow the trial days behind glass windows and separately from their lawyers, which makes confidential communication impossible. Motions from the defense are ignored or delayed, thus limiting the defense's options, and solidarity-based legal guardians are also criminalized and expelled from the courtroom.

All of this makes the trial against the Ulm5 a political show trial. He reveals how the German state persecutes and depoliticizes those who oppose its participation in the genocide, and how constitutional standards take second place to political interests.

In prison, in the dock and on the street: a common fight!

After October 7, 2023, Israel launched an offensive with the aim of destroying the Palestinian people. Bombs on Gaza, deadly attacks in the West Bank and countless people being tortured, abused and killed in Israeli prisons. Despite the genocide and displacement, the Palestinian people are resisting. Global solidarity with Palestine is also evident in Germany and therefore on every day of the trial in the courtroom in Stammheim.

The Ulm5 and its defenders are using the trial to make visible the connections between the German war industry, state repression and the war against Palestine. They refuse to comply with the conditions of the trial, expose Elbit's system and the role of the court in statements and focus on the political character of the action and its legitimacy to end the genocide. This resistant and offensive process by Ulm5 is an expression of solidarity and solidarity with Palestine. It has an impact beyond the courtroom and is linked to solidarity with the Ulm5 themselves. Countless people from different countries come to accompany the trial, greet the prisoners and make it clear that the Ulm 5 are not alone.

We take these connections to the streets. Let us show our solidarity with the Ulm5, let us accompany their trials, let us make it clear why they are on trial, and let us take their resistance from the courtroom to the street. Against German war profits, against state repression and for a free Palestine!

Come to the demonstration / October 24, 2026 / 3 p.m. / Schlossplatz Stuttgart

Further information:ulm5.info/ @ulm5 /

To support the call, send us an email to: freeulm5stgt[ät]systemli.org

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