US: Activists protest against Capital One over loan to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems
Every weekend for the past three weeks, demonstrators have banged pots and pans outside Capital One’s Cafe in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The protestors are targeting Capital One, one of the ten largest banks in the US, which operates five “cafes” in Boston, because it is part of a consortium of six banks that have loaned $545m to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defence contractor.
The cafes are designed to attract young consumers through a mix of cafe spaces, customer perks, and banking services.
The picketers are led by Boycott, Divestment Sanctions Boston (BDS Boston), a local pro-Palestine group that has been campaigning against Elbit Systems for years.
According to S, a member of BDS Boston who asked only to be identified by their first initial, the pickets “have a very strong emphasis on disruption”.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
“Our pickets are extremely loud, and we do our best to be in the face of the customers and the workers so that they cannot ignore us, neither visually, nor in terms of sounds, so that the cafe was effectively uninhabitable for any normal person,” he continued.
Elbit Systems has become a frequent target of pro-Palestine activists because it provides about 85 percent of Israel’s drones and land-based military equipment.
Several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, say Israel’s war on Gaza qualifies as genocide.
Earlier this month, a report by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for Palestine, said that “for Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems… the ongoing genocide has been a profitable venture”.
How customers are reacting
The response by customers to the protests has been mixed.
One customer, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that they would not return to Capital One Cafes after being informed about their loan to Elbit Systems.
But Jarron Wilson, who visited a Capital One cafe on Monday, said that Capital One’s loan to Elbit would not affect his decision to visit the cafe.
“This whole Israel thing is probably bigger than me just picking up a cup of coffee… I’m kind of apolitical on that side of things,” he told Middle East Eye.
Another customer, who asked to remain anonymous, identified with this sentiment.
Although he was aware of “Capital One’s investments in weapons manufacturers that affect Palestine,” he said it would not influence his decision to attend the cafe.
“Weapons manufacturing is part of the world, and how people choose to use those weapons is up to them,” the customer said, adding that he did not care if the weapons were involved in human rights violations.
Despite the indifference of some customers, activists believe that Capital One will be the easiest bank to sway.
“Capital One hones a progressive image and is smaller, and therefore we think it's the weakest link,” S said.
S also noted BDS Boston’s past successful campaigns against Elbit Systems.
In August 2024, Elbit abandoned its innovation centre in Cambridge after over a year of campaigning by pro-Palestine activists.
In April 2025, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s industrial liaisons programme cut ties with Elbit Systems after seven months of campaigning by BDS Boston.
Activists hope that Capital One will follow in the footsteps of British banking giant HSBC, which divested from Elbit Systems in 2018 after a sustained campaign from pro-Palestine activists.
Capital One did not respond to a request for comment.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
