The Cambridge office of KMC Systems, a subsidiary of Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems, is virtually empty because “99.9 percent” of employees work from home, police say, and there are other signs that the company is leaving the city.
The building at 130 Bishop Allen Drive near Central Square that houses KMC has been targeted by pro-Palestinian demonstrations for months. Despite workers going remote, protesters show up every Wednesday, Cambridge Police superintendent of operations Pauline Wells said Tuesday.
They are scheduling further weekly actions at the site. “We will continue organizing until Elbit Systems leaves Cambridge. Should Elbit leave their current offices at 130 Bishop Allen Drive, we advise other local real estate companies that Elbit is a difficult tenant. Where Elbit goes, disruptive community protests follow, as Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. has learned over the past year,” said BDS Boston on Friday.
BDS is short for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions,” a movement to exert political and economic pressure to end Israeli actions against Palestinians in the Middle East.
About 25 to 30 demonstrators showed up this week chanting slogans such as “Elbit is not welcome here” and “Palestine will be free.” The protests have taken on a predictable choreography, with demonstrators on the sidewalk across Bishop Allen Drive from the building and standing in the Bishop Allen Drive roadway for most of the event, then walking onto busy Prospect Street. Police have often stopped traffic at neighboring intersections; on the most recent Wednesday they accompanied demonstrators as they walked along Prospect. Police have said their policy is to stop traffic and otherwise protect people engaging in peaceful protest.
Other building occupants – tenants include Reed Hilderbrand landscape architects, HMFH Architects and a coworking space called Workbar – have reportedly told protesters that the Cambridge Elbit space is no longer being used, and that the company is looking for another location.
As a result, how much longer police must put resources into safety during the weekly rallies is unclear. The lease ends in 2025, according to Compstak, a crowdsourced commercial real estate database that has been quoted occasionally in media such as The New York Times and Washington Post.
Current job openings listed on KMC’s website for the region are for Merrimack, New Hampshire. While there are plenty of Elbit jobs listed on the LinkedIn job site, similarly none are for positions in Cambridge.
KMC and the building management company, Intercontinental Real Estate, did not respond to voicemail messages. A guard in the building lobby tried to have police remove a reporter who was asking employees entering the building whether KMC was still there, saying the reporter was harassing employees. All workers who were questioned said they didn’t know whether KMC was still there; one said the floor where it has an office is physically separated from other floors in the building, so people would ordinarily have no contact with Elbit employees.
Protest aftermath
KMC makes and designs equipment used in biomedical research and production. After Elbit acquired the company, it opened its Cambridge office in December 2021, with then-Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui welcoming the firm. A KMC official has suggested that there are “synergies” between KMC’s medical technology work and parent Elbit Systems’ work.
Meanwhile, seven of the nine demonstrators arrested at the Cambridge building Oct. 30 after a protest turned violent reached agreements with prosecutors to have charges dismissed if they stay away from Elbit Systems offices and don’t commit another crime for six months. Police, who were outnumbered and surprised at the protest, said demonstrators struck them with eggs and paint, deployed smoke bombs, and tried to prevent officers from making arrests. Protesters said police started the violence.
The demonstrators who obtained deals with prosecutors faced a range of charges, including disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and vandalism.
The two defendants whose cases remain are Calla Walsh, 19, of Cambridge, facing two vandalism charges stemming from the Oct. 30 protest and an earlier incident; and Sophie Ross, 23, of Housatonic, who was charged with disorderly conduct and vandalism. District Court Judge David Frank ruled earlier that evidence of vandalism by Ross was “insufficient” because the police report of Ross’ arrest didn’t show that an egg she threw actually struck the Elbit building and “caused a scratch or other damage.”
A stronger
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They succeeded in chasing Elbit out of Cambridge, but I’m not sure how that improves the lives of the Palestinian people. Seems like a meaningless win.
They succeeded in chasing IG Farben out of Cambridge, but I’m not sure how that improves the lives of the German Jews. Seems like a meaningless win.
Speaking of meaningless “wins”….. #westBankSettlers
Some good news for a change!
Don’t let the door hit ya Elbit!
Now do Raytheon next kids, and Draper Labs too!
Also, seriously Sumbul? Ugh.
You too can do your part to keep war criminals out of your community.
Aside from the socialists here who comment (they can’t possibly own stocks, can they), do any of you who want Elbit out of Cambridge, own any mutual funds, ETFs or stocks?
If any of you (here’s looking at you q99 and Sam Noubert) do, your portfolios are filled with stocks that have close ties, in business, with Israel. Google. Apple. Berkshire Hathaway. And so many others.
It seems to me that so many here who have commented on getting Elbit out of Cambridge are the epitome of hypocrites.
I guess I would not expect solid logic for a camera lover, Absurded43.
“Because the cancer has invaded multiple organs in your body, you should stop fighting and just accepted it”
p.s. The entirety of my portfolio is DEI. Probably still a couple rotten matzo balls in there. But the effort IS the point.
“The economy, political leadership, and military of our country are entwined with a country carrying out a genocide, and you think that’s bad? Hypocrite!”
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/we-should-improve-society-somewhat
Actually most folks who have an employer are likely invested in 401ks thru such and have little say on what the portfolio details are that control such funds, so this bickering on whether someone has stock or not is worthless. Only people who direct invest have control of their investments.
Good. Cambridge is not a place that condones genocide. This shouldn’t be controversial.
@ Cambridge Joe. You seem to know nothing about 401ks. The portfolios choices are directed by the employees. That’s the essence of a 401k.
@Sam Noubert. “Because the cancer has invaded multiple organs in your body, you should stop fighting and just accepted it”
Thanks Sam. A close relative has just been diagnosed with cancer. Beyond disgusting that you would wish someone harm from cancer . You’re a piece of sh.t. Karma will get you. Rot in hell.
Eisner’s idea of “improving the lives of the Palestinian people” is either confining them to the world’s biggest open-air concentration camp or exterminating their entire population. The number of murdered Palestinians in Gaza is not likely well over 40,000 people, many of whom are women and children. Eisner never misses an opportunity to spew mindless Zionoid “talking points.” If he asserts something is “meaningless,” it probably means it has truly struck a nerve. Months ago he stated that describing what Israel were doing in Gaza as “genocide” was “assanine.” What could be more assanine than that.
Should be “*now* likely more than 40,000…,” not “not…” which was probably the result of “auto-mistake.”
Poor Bono: Reveal yourself, coward.
Concerned boomer- I’m self employed and manage my own retirement. I try to keep my investments ethical. I Don’t need to invest in war criminals to retire.by the way I’m not opposed to Israel or Israeli stocks. I’m opposed to war, war criminals, war profiteers and genocide profiteers. And im opposed to them in Cambridge. Big difference your generation used to understand. Sad!
Also you seem to know nothing about socialism. I’m a self employed SBO, that’s literally the opposite of a socialist. Not that I mind socialized options. Your other epic misunderstandings is that Israeli history and current government is far more socialist than the US ever was or is. read a book man.
Eisner – (Ask your handlers…) What could possibly be more cowardly than defending the mass slaughter of defenseless children by a technologically sophisticated and far better armed and equipped military, who are free to operate with essentially total impunity, and who have no business or right to be in Gaza – or for that matter, Palestine – to begin with, anyway??Israel is loaded up with cowards, with plenty of cowardly defenders here, too. They love to hide behind fake accusations of “anti-semitism” so they never have to come to terms in any real way with the growing international and global chorus of criticism of the hideous conduct of their beloved, genocidal, “Jewish State,” not to mention the anonymous secret aerial annihilation of doctors, hospitals, schools, universities, journalists, residential neighborhoods, refugee camps, entire families, and even those courageous few who try to provide emergency food relief for starving children. Only despicable cowards defend such mass atrocities.
p.s. Bono probably shouldn’t eschew “auto-mistake,” after all. But, regardless of the spelling, it’s still “asinine.”
Like seriously – Israel was founded on socialism, has socialized healthcare, medicine, housing, transit, agriculture, elder care, has many socialist communes called “kibbutzes” that play key roles in many industries and in Israeli history, and pays an enormous percentage of its population to not work. Much of this socialism is subsidized by aid from the US and Europe. How ignorant can you be of the country whose horrific policies you claim to defending.
@Absureded43, I’m not sure if it is a lack of reading comprehension or just willful ignorance.
I wished no one harm from cancer. It was pretty clear that my quote was a restatement of your logic of why protesting Elbit is “pointless”.
Sorry to hear about your close relative, but it is not I spewing the negative karma here.
@ q99
Why do you continue to make assumptions that are incorrect? I would have thought you, as an intelligent person, would want to get your facts straight.
I’m not a boomer, so you got that one wrong.
I grew up in a socialist household. I know a bit about it. My grandparents voted for Debs in 1920 and then Thomas every year that he ran starting in 1928. Socialism was so pervasive in my home that my brother went a big step further and wrote for The Daily Worker. Eventually he saw the light and became an SBO.
If you’re opposed to war, war criminals, war profiteers and genocide profiteers, what do you use to look at Cambridge Day? A computer? An ipad? An iphone? Microsoft, Apple, Dell and others have large footprints in Israel.
Im totally baffled at your point about computers. Is apple anIsraeli military company? Making drones for bombing families? If it is I’ll be sure to get a droid.
PS Israel is still more
Socialist than the US, look it up.
Although It is a fair point that the IDF soldiers used iPhones to videotape themselves gang raping prisoners or making TikTok videos in which they brag about killing babies so I guess apple is complicit at that level.
q99
Son, nice try. It’s fun to spar with you.
If you say that Israeli soldiers are doing all these horrible things using Apple products, why would you continue to be hypocritical and use them? Hypocritical… no not q99.
By the way, socialist is not spelled with a capital S, but you already knew that, right?
Are you resorting to complaining about my typos on my phone because you’re busy Defending the indenfensible and accusing people of socialism because of foreign policy differences they have. Socialism is hardly even about foreign policy anyway. But Yes I’m also aware apple should be capitalized and anIsraeli should have a space.
Sorry if that confused you.
But yes I’m still confused why you think I’m a hypocrite? Because I don’t want a war company in my town like elbit, Draper or Raytheon and am against killing babies and raping people regardless of their color or religion?
Why do I think you are a hypocrite? Because you continue to use products made by companies that have a large presence in Israel, and contribute to the Israeli war machine that you oppose.
While you do not want Elbit, Draper, or Raytheon in “your town”, something which is very easy to say because it doesn’t affect you directly, when something does affect you directly, you are unwilling to give it up e.g. Microsoft software; Apple phone; Amazon; generic drugs from Teva Pharma and so many other things.
Then, when we see others here, say that not only do they use the products of these companies, but that they own stock via mutual funds, ETFs, and direct ownership, I view that as hypocrisy.
I love a good debate, but let’s stick to the issues here neighbor!
I see that since you are unwilling to defend nor disavow genocide and rape, you resort to attacking my…
(Checks notes)
Choice of telephone ?
Am not attacking your telephone or anything else. Am just saying that I believe it is hypocritical that you, and others here, continue to support companies which you claim, and rightly so, contribute to Israel’s defense industry.
If you don’t believe it is hypocritical, that’s okay. I think that it is.
Are you willing to defend or disavow what happened on October 7th. and defend or disavow the continued holding of any hostages that are still alive?
Dude, as I said, Israel is a place that has a right to exist within its borders. It has a right to remain socialist, which you seem to criticize or misunderstand here but not there. In fact, Israel has a right to defend itself, but not to indiscriminately kill tens of thousands and steal land from people, etc etc, with my tax dollars. Hamas sucks for killing civilians including 30 children. So does the IDF for killing 40,000 civilians including 20,000 kids.
I see no hypocrisy in cheering the departure of a business that does 100% of its business for what I believe to be an criminal government (netanyahu and his crew faces domestic charges of corruption as well as international charges of war crimes) and amoral military, while owning a telephone that does one zillionth of a percent of its business in the same country’s civilians.
Whatever you say.