Statements
In Solidarity with Journalists in Los Angeles Reporting on Protests Against Israeli Real Estate Sales
The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union condemns the targeted violence against journalists reporting on protests in Los Angeles on June 23. Several journalists, including Jewish ones, reporting on the protests against Israeli real estate sales were attacked, harassed and had their equipment damaged or stolen by Zionist extremists, while filming those extremists assaulting protesters. Several journalists were targeted online before the protest, some of whom were later assaulted or harassed. In other words: This was a blatant, calculated attempt to harm journalists and undermine press freedom.
The IWW FJU also condemns the vile threats of sexual assault and violence by Zionists against women journalists in particular. The targeting of women should have no place anywhere — not in Los Angeles nor in Gaza. Any failure by elected officials to acknowledge as much contributes to further violence in the future. No journalist should experience unsafe working conditions, especially when elected officials claim to support the freedom of the press.
The IWW FJU condemns statements made by President Joe Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other politicians who falsely described yesterday’s violence as “anti-Semitism,” which sets a dangerous precedent justifying violence towards both journalists and protesters. The protests on June 23 were organized against real estate sales in Israel and Israeli-occupied Palestine, not against Judaism. Failure to acknowledge Zionist violence is a cowardly stance that continues to fuel assaults against reporters and others, both in the United States and Palestine.
The ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza has murdered entire family lines and resulted in the largest mass-killing of reporters in history. We have an obligation to our Palestinian colleagues to stand against the ongoing violence to their communities, whether through bombs or real estate transactions.
The IWW FJU stands in solidarity with our fellow journalists who were attacked, harassed and targeted. We call on elected officials to overcome their cowardice and condemn such violence. We also call on other labor unions, media organizations and independent journalists to stand against this calculated assault on the press and press freedoms. News outlets in particular should cease framing such violence as “anti-Semitic” and instead acknowledge Zionist violence against reporters and protesters alike. Journalists affected by these events should contact the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to report their experiences. Any journalists seeking further resources should contact us directly at [email protected].
As always, we echo the perennial motto of the IWW: An injury to one is an injury to all!
Strike for Palestine on May Day and Nakba Day
On April 11, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions issued a call to action, asking workers around the world to strike in solidarity with workers in Palestine on May Day (May 1) and Nakba Day (May 15).
The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union commits to striking on both days. These solidarity strikes will consist of members refraining from any sort of commissioned labor that is unrelated to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Instead, IWW FJU members will participate in local actions in solidarity with Palestinians. Other unpaid journalistic work amplifying these actions, such as social media coverage, is encouraged for all.
We ask Fellow Workers in other sections of the IWW, and workers more generally, to organize strikes, sick-outs and similar labor-withholding actions on May Day and Nakba Day. We also ask other, non-labor-related organizations to call for a “Day of Action” or similar event on both days to encourage their members to get involved, however possible, in local actions in solidarity with Palestinians.
As always, we echo the perennial IWW motto: An injury to one is an injury to all!
Solidarity with Yemeni Journalists Syndicate
In the face of the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen and the recent escalation of airstrikes by the United States and others, the Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union calls for solidarity with Yemeni journalists as they work perilously to cover the conflict.
For a decade now, Saudi Arabia, with US support, has led an assault on the Yemeni people as punishment for the 2014 Houthi uprising. Despite recent attempts at normalization with Saudi Arabia, Houthi attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea — carried out in opposition to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza — have led to intensified retaliatory strikes by the US and its allies, further endangering both Yemeni civilians and the journalists working to catalog violence in the war-torn nation.
IWW FJU deplores the killing of journalists both inside and outside of war zones, and stands in solidarity with the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS), an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), as well as with professional and citizen journalists in Yemen more broadly. IWW FJU encourages all who are able to chip in to help protect journalists in Yemen by donating to YJS via IFJ: donorbox.org/donation-to-the-ifj-safety-fund (Should be sent with the comment “For the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate”)
As always, we echo the perennial IWW motto: An injury to one is an injury to all!
In Support of Bypassing Pro-Zionist Israeli News Sources
In the spirit of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which advocates economic opposition to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine — and which the Industrial Workers of the World endorsed in 2010 — the IWW Freelance Journalists Union advocates that news producers and consumers bypass pro-Zionist Israeli news websites as much as is practical.
First and foremost, this means prioritizing Palestinians as sources on their own struggle against the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine more broadly. The amount of biased reporting and blatant disinformation coming from pro-Zionist news sources in Israel — and from some of the most-read legacy media institutions — requires that journalists who stand in solidarity with Palestinians aspire to new heights of scrutiny and critical analysis.
In the current context of the Israeli military intentionally targeting Palestinian journalists and suppressing telecommunications into and out of Gaza — while also regularly preventing international journalists from accessing the territory — Israeli news websites are the sources most readily available. These same sources are also those most often cited by international outlets, despite clear conflicts of interest and growing evidence of pro-Zionist lies being reported by such outlets.
In order to prevent pro-Zionist Israeli news outlets from capitalizing on these dire circumstances, the IWW FJU advocates that both news producers and consumers attempt to access such sources via bypass tools that will deny them traffic and therefore revenue, such as the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
The IWW FJU stands with Palestinian journalists and the Palestinian people. As always, we echo the motto of the IWW: An injury to one is an injury to all!
In Solidarity with Ben Camacho
Since April 2023, Ben Camacho has been entangled in a legal battle over the release of photographs of officers with the Los Angeles Police Department. The photographs were obtained through a Public Records Request, after Camacho filed a lawsuit and a court settlement ordered the photos be handed over.
Following the release of the photos by Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, the City of Los Angeles filed suit against Camacho and SLSC, alleging that the public release of the personnel photos could compromise “sensitive” operations. The ongoing attempt to claw back these now public records is being made in violation of the defendants’ First Amendment rights. Now, another lawsuit has been filed, apparently to shift blame in the case.
The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union stands in solidarity with Camacho, whose commitment to transparency in policing and government represents the core ethics of journalism: to inform the people and hold power to account. We call on Mayor Bass, City Attorney Soto and the City of Los Angeles to abide by the First Amendment by dropping these lawsuits immediately.
Until then, we stand by the motto of the IWW: An injury to one is an injury to all!