Urban Shield
From October 25th-27th arms manufacturers and police forces across the world gathered in the Bay Area to participate in Urban Shield, a 48-hour training exercise (i.e. war games) and homeland security industry trade show. While the stated purpose of Urban Shield is disaster preparation, its outrageous scenarios promote expanded anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism and increased militarization of the police with the disproportionate impact that has on people of color in the United States. Joining in these exercises were police forces and militaries engaged in extreme repression including Israel, Bahrain and Brazil among others. Urban Shield reflects the globalized nature of policing and surveillance, and Israel’s important place in it as explained in the IJAN pamphlet, “Israel’s Worldwide Role in Repression.” IJAN participated in the organizing of the Facing Urban Shield Action Network (FUSAN) as they confronted this collaboration between repressive police forces. Visit their page for a full media roundup of the actions.
