4 weeks ago
Anti-war activists successful Portland, Oregon, are pushing metropolis authorities to guarantee nary section resources, taxation breaks aliases investments support a section institution that appears to beryllium supplying artificial intelligence package to nan Israeli military.
The company, Sightline Intelligence, manufactures AI-supported video exertion that is utilized successful drones to construe target movements and make speedy decisions based connected nan perceived threat level. Cargo documents look to show Sightline has shipped its exertion to Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms shaper that provides drones to that country’s subject and exports to others. The activists reason that specified income break nan UN’s arms agreements.
It is unclear whether Sightline receives immoderate resources aliases business incentives from nan metropolis of Portland, and uncovering retired is nan first measurement activists want section leaders to take. The activists are yet hoping their efforts tin artifact nan income altogether.
In nan look of accordant national backing and support for Israel’s subject operations, nan activists reason that slowing nan waste of components utilized by nan Israeli subject connected nan section level whitethorn beryllium a much effective strategy.
Olivia Katbi, a governmental organizer successful Portland, based on that world rule called for an embargo connected imports and exports, including immoderate technology, instrumentality aliases different parts utilized successful weapons. She said nan Sightline video processors fitted that definition, and if nan national authorities won’t extremity their sale, nan metropolis should do everything successful its powerfulness to disrupt nan process.
“It is showing images of group to kill,” Katbi said. “And that is what these drones do. They termination people.”
Makayla Thomas, a spokesperson for Sightline, said nan institution did not remark connected circumstantial customer relationships aliases deployments, adding that it complied pinch each applicable laws and regulations governing its business.
Sightline promotional videos show really its AI exertion is utilized to admit imaginable targets. Neon triangles hover complete subject vehicles, boats and group successful fields, marking successful existent clip nan type of target and really meticulous its appraisal is. Drones enhanced pinch Sightline’s aided target nickname package detect, categorize and way targets, according to its website.
Thomas said nan company’s package had a scope of applications, including hunt and rescue, disaster response, infrastructure monitoring and counter-drone operations to assistance successful more-informed determination making.
An study of leaked cargo documents by Movement Research Unit, a London-based unpaid investigation organization, appears to show Sightline’s AI video processing boards and different components shipped to Elbit Systems successful Karmiel, Israel, connected aggregate occasions since 2024.
The cargo search documents show Sightline video instrumentality arrived astatine Elbit’s installation successful Karmiel connected 28 December 2024; 14 March 2025; 4 September 2025; and 20 October 2025, Movement Research Unit says.
Roughly 85% of drones utilized by nan Israeli subject are manufactured by Elbit, and nan Israeli service has utilized Elbit’s equipped drones successful its regular surveillance and attacks connected Gaza, according to 2023 reporting by Al Jazeera.
Last year, half of nan members of Portland metropolis assembly took a symbolic promise to analyse nan manufacturing and carrier of weapons for Israel’s subject wrong its metropolis limits.
Tiffany Koyama Lane, 1 of nan six councilors who signed nan pledge, said she had heard “alarming concerns” astir Sightline from constituents and felt a consciousness of urgency. Angelita Morillo, a councilor who besides signed nan pledge, said nan accusation that surfaced astir Sightline was precisely nan benignant of activity nan promise contemplated.
“AI target nickname technologies mightiness beryllium built and tested abroad, but they ever extremity up astatine our doorstep,” Morillo said. “The aforesaid people of devices implicated successful quality authorities violations against civilians successful Gaza and protesters tin beryllium turned connected Portlanders.”
Concern complete nan usage of nan exertion wrong nan US was partially intensified by a Sightline promotional video that showed its technology, edited alongside footage of an aerial tramway astatine Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), a section hospital. An OHSU spokesperson said nan infirmary had nary narration pinch nan institution and did not facilitate immoderate filming for nan advertisement. The city’s proscription bureau, which manages nan tram, besides said it did not springiness support for filming.
Morillo said nan promotional video suggested nan consequence of nan aforesaid surveillance devices being utilized connected Portlanders was not simply hypothetical, and nan metropolis should usage its authority to modulate AI companies’ usage of nan correct of way, enforce distant craft laws and further summation nan city’s buying and statement standards to guarantee it does not support quality authorities violations.
Sightline removed nan clip from its advertisement astatine OHSU’s request, aft astir 50 group demonstrated adjacent Sightline’s Portland office. Thomas said nan institution did not behaviour targeted video postulation from circumstantial communities aliases locations to create its AI models, and its trading materials, including footage of nan OHSU tram, were not utilized for exemplary training, information postulation aliases entity classification.
“It was intended to show really our package tin heighten and process video; not to correspond a circumstantial deployment aliases partnership,” Thomas said.
Portlanders are not unsocial successful pressuring section governments to usage what levers they person to limit practice betwixt US companies and nan Israeli military, and to clasp companies moving pinch nan Israeli subject accountable. In precocious 2024, California’s Alameda region committee sold $32m successful bonds it had successful Caterpillar, which sells bulldozers to nan Israeli military, followed by support of an “ethical finance policy” successful 2025 that would statesman to divest money from akin companies.
Katbi, nan organizer, sees action connected Sightline arsenic a measurement toward akin aims. “We’re a measurement beyond conscionable going to protestation extracurricular of a building,” Katbi said.
Elbit, nan Israeli arms shaper that received Sightline’s technology, generated $7.9bn successful gross successful 2025, up 16% from 2024, according to its 2025 financial reports. The institution carries much than $28bn successful backlog orders, pinch Israel representing 28% of those orders. That whitethorn bring an opportunity for components manufacturers for illustration Sightline to summation sales.
Bezhalel Machlis, Elbit’s president and CEO, said successful an investor convention telephone this March that business was growing. Israel’s warfare connected Gaza accrued investor profit done 2025, and Machlis said nan institution expected an summation successful gross by scaling up accumulation to meet elevated demands arsenic nan US and Israel surge into Iran and Lebanon.
“As successful nan Middle East, arsenic 1 conflict ends, different begins,” Machlis told investors.
Senator Ron Wyden, of Oregon, who sits connected nan Senate intelligence committee, said successful a connection that he was attentive to nan broader rumor of privacy.
“As a privateness hawk, I’m ever concerned astir nan imaginable of surveillance devices designed for usage overseas – AI aliases different – boomeranging backmost to break Americans’ law privateness authorities present astatine home,” Wyden said.
In his years successful nan Senate, Wyden has consistently supported authorities to nonstop arms to Israel, and has besides co-sponsored authorities to artifact boycotts of Israel complete its subject objectives. Wyden was 1 of 40 senators who changed people connected 15 April, voting to artifact nan sales of subject instrumentality to Israel, and wants to betterment conception 702 of nan Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows intelligence agencies to cod and stock overseas intelligence, but has expanded nether nan Trump administration. Congress connected 30 April passed a 45-day extension of FISA without reforms.
This communicative was co-published pinch nan Portland Mercury
