Palestine Action Canada and the Arms Embargo Now coalition have announced a coordinated, coast-to-coast “Day of Action” scheduled for August 13, calling on activists to mobilize outside the facilities of Canadian companies that supply components to defense contractor Elbit Systems.
Promotional materials released by the campaign urge activists to put local Elbit suppliers “on notice,” demanding that these businesses sever their commercial ties or “pay the political, financial, and reputational cost of complicity.” The organizers framed the upcoming demonstrations as an effort to enforce an unofficial arms embargo from the ground up, stating that the actions aim to make Canada’s involvement in the Gaza conflict “undeniable.”
To prepare activists for the coordinated actions, the coalition rolled out a specialized training workshop, posted to YouTube on June 25, 2026, led by prominent organizers including World BEYOND War Canada Organizer Rachel Small and Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Haneen Ismail.
During the instructional sessions, Small and Ismail walked participants through the logistics of targeting domestic supply chains, instructing activists on identifying local manufacturing plants, distribution centers, and offices that supply parts to Elbit Systems while encouraging participants to make business operations “politically toxic” for corporate leadership.
Activists provide detailed instructions for seeking, targeting Elbit-tied entities
The training further provided step-by-step instructions on utilizing advanced search tools, mapping software, and corporate registries to compile dossiers on businesses and track their supply chain links to military contractors. Presenter discussions centered on methods for building local pressure groups, staging informational pickets, and coordinating simultaneous actions across multiple provinces to maximize public visibility.
Complementing these digital resources, promotional campaigns featuring imagery of raised hands holding a hammer alongside a Palestinian flag have circulated online, bearing the slogan “Arms tired from waving flags? Workout with a hammer!” and advertising direct action training sessions.
The coalition also published a detailed digital toolkit outlining an eight-step mobilization process for activists. The instructions guide participants through assembling local teams, scouting target locations using mapping tools, planning logistics, and coordinating media outreach. The toolkit suggests various tactics for the August 13 events, including hosting informational pickets, organizing rallies outside corporate facilities, and plastering the surrounding areas with posters to publicly identify companies linked to the defense contractor.
As part of these preparatory efforts, the coalition has already compiled a cross-country target list consisting of 33 potential corporate and manufacturing sites across multiple provinces, ranging from British Columbia and Alberta to Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, identified as allegedly having direct commercial or supply links to Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, aiming to stage simultaneous demonstrations outside key industrial and manufacturing sites tied to military supply chains.
Meir Weinstein, director of the Canadian-based Israel Now movement and newly formed Jewish Defense Force, gave a statement to The Jerusalem Post: “[The] Jewish Defense Force is actively monitoring Palestine Action Canada and their associates. We have identified some locations that they plan to target on Thursday, August 13. We are discussing counter-protests. We have contacted some of the businesses that are on the target list.”
Jewish groups advocated for Palestine Action to be designated as terrorist organization
The campaign’s tactics and digital target mapping have faced sharp backlash from advocacy groups. In May 2026, B’nai Brith Canada urged the federal government to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist entity, pointing to the group’s dissemination of target maps and underground manuals that outline instructions for direct action and property disruption.
The group’s international counterpart has already faced severe regulatory consequences abroad. In July 2025, the UK government formally proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000.
The ban followed an escalation of aggressive direct-action campaigns that involved breaking into defense facilities, occupying corporate roofs, utilizing pyrotechnics during building evacuations, and causing millions of dollars in extensive property damage to military and technological infrastructure, including an incident where activists sprayed red paint on Royal Air Force aircraft at Brize Norton.