It was a busy morning in Niles as nearly 100 youth-led Palestinian protestors demonstrated outside of the Woodward manufacturing facility in suburban Niles.
Woodward is a manufacturer in the aerospace industry, serving commercial and military markets. According to its website, it produces “Control Actuation Systems” for tactical missiles and guided weapons.
The activists protesting on Wednesday claim Woodward makes parts for Boeing that are used in the bombs being dropped on Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
It started months ago when a picture out of Gaza appeared to show a fragment of a missile with Woodward's logo on it. The photo has not been independently verified and its origin is unknown.
“When we found this out, we got together and organized this action," activist and Chicago resident Jinan Chehade said. “So we’re here to send the message to shut down production and manufacturing for the day to make a difference for Gaza.”
The group blocked about five entrances to Woodward for more than six hours in an attempt to stop employees and deliveries from getting through.
“Why we’re here today is to tell them to end their contract with Boeing, and not only to end that, but to stop giving military aid to Israel," activist Rifqa Falaneh told NBC Chicago. “We have to be here at the weapons manufacturer in the face of it all, because these are all well intertwined."
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Niles police ended up arresting 33 people at the protest, all of whom were charged with unlawful assembly and released from custody.
"These individuals... sat in the roadway purposely blocking traffic and creating a hazard on Croname and on Howard Street," Niles police said in a statement. "Several other participants remained mobile while verbally agitating law enforcement officers and first responders."
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Protestors argued the response was unnecessary.
“They’ve came with bulletproof vests and also dogs, so we don’t know why we’ve been met with all this violence," Falaneh said.
NBC 5 News reached out to Woodward in Niles, who directed all inquiries to their headquarters in Fort Collins, Colo. NBC Chicago made several attempts to reach the corporate office for comment but did not hear back.
Last year, Woodward provided a statement to news outlets in Colorado regarding this topic, stating, “a small portion of our business involves indirectly supplying the U.S. government with subsystems that go into military equipment. While we are not involved in policy decisions regarding the use of defense equipment containing our products, we remain committed to serving all of our customers.”
This story will be updated pending a response from Woodward.
