Statements
GoFundMe Shutters Fundraiser for Palestinian Journalists
On December 7, GoFundMe suddenly shut down a fundraiser by the Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union benefiting the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
The fundraiser had been running since October 14, enabling the IWW FJU to raise $26,644.45 for the PJS to provide protective equipment for journalists in Palestine, at least 61 of whom have been killed in the ongoing war, according to the IFJ. The IWW FJU was able to send the PJS $20,564.24 before GoFundMe put a hold on the fundraiser. GoFundMe now refuses to release the remaining $6,080.21 pledged by donors, citing unspecified “laws and regulations.”
Over the course of the fundraiser, the IWW FJU received a dozen requests for further information from GoFundMe, all of which were answered as thoroughly and in as timely a manner as possible, given the ongoing war. The decision by GoFundMe to nevertheless shut down the fundraiser can only be understood as part of the mass repression currently targeting all those demonstrating solidarity with the people of Palestine.
The IWW FJU refuses to allow our solidarity to be undermined. We will be exploring whatever legal recourse may be available to us to appeal GoFundMe’s decision. In the meantime, we thank everyone who donated to our fundraiser; encourage our members, supporters and others to continue giving to the IFJ’s ongoing fundraiser for the PJS; and express our resolve to live up to the IWW’s motto: Solidarity Forever!
In Solidarity with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate
In light of increasing violence in Israel and Palestine, the Industrial Workers of the World Printing and Publishing Workers Union and Freelance Journalists Union expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
The ongoing war has already claimed the lives of at least 10 journalists, per the PJS. This current wave of killings occurs in the context of hundreds of violations and crimes against Palestinian journalists perpetrated by the Israeli occupation every year, as reported by the PJS.
To protect journalists, the PJS requires media outlets to provide safety vests, helmets and gas masks for employees, but this equipment is often unavailable to freelancers. The IWW PPWU-FJU is therefore fundraising to provide the PJS with 50 such kits for freelancers. We encourage all journalists, union members and others to support the PJS by contributing to this fundraiser and sharing widely both the fundraiser and the PJS’s most recent statement on the current war below.
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate: In Gaza, crimes against journalists: 10 killed, 20 injured, 2 missed, 50 media institutions destroyed, more than 45 violations have taken place in the West Bank and Jerusalem, while crimes extend to journalists in Lebanon!
Ramallah, in a report issued by the Freedoms Committee of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, it was stated that since the beginning of the aggression against the Gaza Strip on 10/7/2023, 10 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli occupation aircraft missiles.
The PJS indicates that journalists in the Gaza Strip face very dangerous situation as a result of the Israeli occupation bombing, which caused the killing of 10 journalists in Palestine and one journalist in Lebanon.
In light with rapid developments during the brutal escalation in Gaza, the PJS has monitored the following crimes and violations since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip until Friday evening.
Names of killed journalists:
- Ahmed Shehab, program producer on Voice of Prisoners Radio
- Photojournalist Muhammad Al-Salhi, photographer of the “Fourth authority” agency
- Freelance photojournalist Muhammad Fayez Abu Matar
- Journalist Hisham Al-Nawajha, photographer for “Khabar” agency
- Photojournalist Ibrahim Lafi from Ain Media Foundation
- Journalist Saeed Al-Taweel, editor-in-chief of the Fifth News Agency
- Journalist Muhammad Jarghoun from Smart Media Agency
- Freelance journalist Asaad Shamal
- Journalist Muhammad Abu Rizq, Khabar Agency photographer.
- Freelance journalist Salam Mema, whose death was announced after being pulled from under the rubble, three days after her home was destroyed
Missing Journalists:
- Photojournalist Nidal Al-Wahidi, who works as a producer with Al-Najah TV
- Journalist Haitham Abdel Wahed from Ain Media Media Foundation
Serious and injuries among journalists:
Due to the difficulty of movement and communication resulting from the abundance of missile bombardment, its intensity, and its spread in many locations in the Gaza Strip, the number of injured journalists may be more than this statistic that we have been able to monitor so far.
About 20 injuries were observed, the most violent of which was in the Gaza Strip, where some of the announced injury was journalist Ibrahim Qanan, correspondent for Al-Ghad TV, freelance photographer Ali Hamad, journalist Saleh Al-Masry from the Palestine Today Agency, and photojournalist Mahmoud Al-Hams, photographer for Agence France-Presse.
Moreover, the killing of the wife of journalist Sameh Murad, “a freelance journalist who worked these days with Al Arabiya during the aggression,” and the injury of the rest of his family as the displaced people who went out toward Khan Yunis were targeted while he was working to cover the events of the aggression in Al-Shifa Hospital.
Destroying of journalists’ offices and homes:
About 50 headquarters and centers of media institutions and about 20 homes for journalists were completely and some partially destroyed as a result of the bombing, including the offices of the following news agencies and media outlets:
Al-Aqsa Media Network, Ma’an News Agency, Sawa Agency, Shehab Agency, Al-Quds Newspaper, Radio Baladna, Zaman Radio, National Agency, Khabar Agency, Al-Ayyam Newspaper, Event Media Services Company, Fadl Shanaa Foundation, Holy Quran Radio, Shams News Agency, APA Agency, Al Jazeera Network Office, Palestine TV, “AFP” Agency.
Additionally, many journalists were also subject to direct threats and incitement campaigns by Israeli pages on social media platforms, as happened with journalist Muthanna Al-Najjar from Gaza, as well as journalist Muhammad Turkman in the West Bank, apart from monitoring many Hebrew publications calling for the killing of journalists and describing them as saboteurs and terrorists.
Violations in the West Bank and Jerusalem:
Meanwhile, many Palestinian journalists were injured in the West Bank, and crews were beaten, detained, prevented from covering.
As 8 shooting cases have been recorded, as a result of which 3 journalists were injured. Additionally, PJS documented 21 cases of detention and preventing from coverage, 8 physical assault cases, 7 cases of confiscating and destroying journalists’ equipment, and some other violations .
Additionally, the Israeli forces have arrested 32 citizens who demonstrated for solidarity with Gaza.
Israeli crimes against journalists extend to Lebanon!
The Israeli occupation forces were not limited to targeting Palestinian journalists, but it extended to Lebanon, where the killing of Reuters journalist Issam Abdullah was announced and five journalists from Al Jazeera, Reuters and Agence France-Presse were injured in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon.
Journalists threatening:
Additionally, many journalists were also subject to direct threats and incitement campaigns by Israeli pages on social media platforms, as happened with journalist Muthanna Al-Najjar from Gaza, as well as journalist Muhammad Turkman in the West Bank, apart from monitoring many Hebrew publications calling for the killing of journalists and describing them as saboteurs and terrorists.
Moreover, the Israeli Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karei, was quoted to take a decision to stop providing Internet services to Internet companies in the Gaza Strip, starting at 00:00 on 10/14/2023, and to ban all types of services provided by Israeli Internet service providers to Gaza.
In this context, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate calls on the United Nations, especially UNESCO, to provide international protection for journalists from systematic killing and targeting, as well as to preserve their rights and their access to the Internet and other means of communication, so that they can deliver their media message to the Palestinians and the entire world about the war in Gaza.
As combating misleading information is one of the pillars of the International Code of Professional Ethics issued by the International Federation of Journalists, which must remain the backbone of the professional principles of journalists, and access to correct information is one of the basic rights of citizens.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the International Federation of Journalists and its trainers in its journalists’ safety network, in cooperation with the PJS, have updated the journalist’s safety guidelines for journalists in the field in line with the special situation of journalists in Palestine.
General Secretariat
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate
In Solidarity with It’s Going Down and Other Anti-fascists Suspended by Twitter
On December 15, 2022, the news website It’s Going Down was suspended from Twitter, along with several other prominent anti-fascist organizations and journalists, such as CrimethInc, Ignite the Right and Chad Loder. The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union calls on Twitter to immediately lift these suspensions, and we encourage other journalists’ unions to also express their solidarity with the affected groups and individuals.
Until the suspension is lifted, the IWW FJU will be sharing content from It’s Going Down on the union’s Twitter account, @IWWFJU. We also encourage all of our members and supporters to do the same. In this small way, we can stand resolutely by the motto of the IWW: An injury to one is an injury to all!
In Memory of Fellow Worker Tortuguita
On January 18, 2023, Manuel “Tortuguita” Páez Terán was murdered by the Georgia State Patrol in Atlanta, according to comrades with whom they were defending Weelaunee Forest from the construction of an 85-acre police training facility appropriately derided as “Cop City.”
As a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, Tortuguita belonged to the countless ranks of Fellow Workers who seek, in the words of the IWW Constitution, to “take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.” In death, Fellow Worker Tortuguita joins the long list of IWW martyrs who have been murdered by the forces of the state and capital, which exploit all workers and our planet.
To support Fellow Worker Tortuguita’s family in this moment of need, the IWW Freelance Journalists Union encourages all of our members and supporters to donate to, and share widely, the fundraiser established for their funeral expenses.
We also encourage our members and supporters to donate to, and share, the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which continues supporting Fellow Worker Tortuguita’s comrades who are yet being prosecuted by the state for defending Weelaunee Forest against Cop City.
Fellow Worker Tortuguita may be gone, but if we are able to defeat Cop City, then their spirit can live forever in the hearts of all those who visit Weelaunee Forest for generations to come. To paraphrase the words of another IWW martyr: Don’t mourn — organize!
In Solidarity with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Workers on Strike
Since mid-October, workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who are organized with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, have been on strike. Management has already posted jobs replacing the striking workers, and union members have asked local freelancers not to cross the picket line. The picket line was nevertheless crossed by scabs who earned bonuses of as much as $1,500, combined with a further raise, totalling around $40,000.
The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union expresses our full solidarity with striking workers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. We encourage everyone to donate to the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh’s strike fund, and we endorse the request that freelancers not accept jobs or assignments that would undercut the strike. Instead, IWW FJU members who have assignments with the newspaper should appeal to us for support from our solidarity strike funds.
The IWW FJU wishes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers a swift victory in their conflict with management. Until then, we hold fast to the IWW motto: An injury to one is an injury to all!