Dear Mr Cropper and staff,
We have become aware that products being made at Croppers’ subsidiary Technical Fibre Products (TFP) are playing a role in the atrocities in Gaza
We appreciate that the wet-laid non-wovens created by TFP bring vital work and income to Burneside and the region as a whole; that Croppers/TFP is a valued employer with a strong history in the community.
We value the role that Croppers/TFP plays in the local economy. Our gripe is not with the company, nor with the staff, who have faced recent redundancy and have been saved by the company’s diversification.
We are concerned about markets.
We are all currently watching a genocide unfold live on our TV screens and tablets. Newsfeeds are full of stories of horror and destruction: mass loss of civilian life, life changing disability, complete devastation of hospitals, roads and other vital infrastructure, starvation of a population already aid dependent who can no longer access that aid, an unimaginable toll on children in an area whose population is 50% children.
None of this would be possible without the F35. 15% of the components of an F35 are made in Britain. Some of those components may be big, and some small - some may be components of a component- but each and every one of those pieces makes up the whole. Without even the tiniest of those parts, F35 production would not happen.
Israel’s fleet of F35s depends on Lockheed Martin’s purchase of TFP (Croppers) products.
By your own admission, no one else can make these products. You are world-leaders in this innovative process. We therefore request that you focus your innovation on alternative markets.
Israel has recently placed an order for an additional 25 F35s! Those F35s require your expertise.
Israel is facing prosecution in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Genocide, i.e. it is being investigated for War Crimes. The ICJ has ruled that the term ‘genocide’ is plausible in this case.
In relation to the occupation of Palestine, Israel previously had its ‘security wall’ denounced as illegal by the ICJ and is currently under the same courts’ scrutiny for the crime of Apartheid. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also due to hear evidence of Israel’s breaches of international law (these proceedings will now be prolonged and protracted due to the current activity in the region and the massive influx of evidence).
We are asking that given the atrocities being carried out on Palestinians in Gaza, and the potential complicity of Croppers/TFP in such actions, that the company halt their involvement in the supply of materials to F35s.
Defence is one thing. Nations have a right to defence, as do all peoples.
Israel suffered a terrible tragedy on October 7th, but its actions have gone far beyond any recognisable or reasonable act of defence. Israel is exacting collective punishment as retribution. This is not an action protected by international law. This is not an action supported by the vast majority of the UK (and global) population.
It is highly likely that many of your staff members find the stories on the news re Gaza to be unacceptable. It is highly likely that they feel conflicted by working at a company (or on production lines) making materials which facilitate the devastation they are witnessing.
Those workers will not want to lose their jobs- they depend on your employment, your company is vital- but they will not want to play a role in facilitating the utter destruction of Gaza and of Palestinian lives. It is likely that this is having a negative impact on their Mental Health and levels of Anxiety.
We ask Croppers/TFP to reconsider its role in this atrocity and to stand on the side of justice.
We ask your company to consider the implications of complicity in such actions- to support the well-being of your staff.
We ask you to make a stand against war crimes- to support peaceful means of global conflict resolution over violent methods- to proceed with conscience.
We ask you to please, halt production of any wet-laid non-wovens destined for use in F35s
Thank you for your consideration.
We would be happy to meet with you and discuss this further if you would find that useful.
We look forward to hearing from you by return
Yours Faithfully
Palestine Solidarity Group Carlisle & District Steering Group