US Women's group calls for boycott of Combined Systems Inc. for producing tear gas canisters used by Israeli forces

No More Tears: Tell the Profiteers at CSI to Stop Selling Tear Gas to Israel

On Thursday women’s and civic groups from across Israel and Palestine flooded the streets to mourn Jawaher Abu Rahma, an activist who was participating in a weekly demonstration against Israel’s land confiscations and separation wall when she was hit with tear gas fumes, collapsed, and died on New Years’ Eve.

Jawaher is only the most recent protester killed or seriously injured by the tear gas purchased from Pennsylvania-based company Combined Systems Inc. and fired by the Israeli military. Jawaher’s brother was killed almost two years ago and two US citizens, Tristan Anderson and Emily Henochowicz, were injured last year.

Combined Systems Inc. (CSI) is located in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, but the tear gas canisters it makes litter the villages of Palestinians thousands of miles away. The Israeli military is using CSI’s tear gas as a weapon as it tries to crush the growing movement of unarmed protest against Israel’s illegal confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli settlements.

Even more disturbing, you as a US taxpayer are paying for at least some of the tear gas that Israel is shooting at Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters. In 2007 and 2008, the US State Department provided $1.85 million worth of "tear gasses and riot control agents" to Israel as part of the US's $3 billion in annual military aid to Israel.