We, the undersigned Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance members, condemn the Australian government’s support for Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and its refusal to vote in the United Nations for a humanitarian truce.

We express our grief at the enormous loss of life that has escalated since 7 October. At the time of writing, more than 11,700 people have been killed in Gaza, almost all of whom are civilians, with at least 39 journalists among those killed. We note the UN Secretary-General has described the assault as a form of collective punishment.

The targeting of journalists is a war crime. Artists, writers, musicians have also been killed. These are our colleagues. Their voices are being silenced.

We understand that this is not a religious conflict and we stand with Palestinians and Jews critical of Israel against all forms of racism, discrimination and settler-colonial violence.

As members of a union founded on solidarity, integrity and justice, we have stood with struggles against Apartheid and joined the ongoing struggle for decolonisation led by First Nations peoples here, including in our own arts and media organisations. Now we must stand in solidarity with calls to end the system of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and settler-colonial control that Israel has perpetrated in Palestine for more than 75 years.

We call on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong to unequivocally demand that the Israeli government withdraw its military from the Gaza Strip, stop the bombing of Gaza and immediately end the blockade that has cut off water, electricity and medicine to Gaza.

We condemn the silencing and intimidation that our members experience when expressing support for or reporting on Palestine.

We reiterate the calls of our member workers in the media to improve the news coverage of Palestine: for editors to consciously and deliberately make space for Palestinian perspectives, prioritising the voices of those most affected by the violence. We call on our union to support members standing up for the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics in their workplaces on this issue.

We support the Urgent Call from Palestinian Trade Unions, including the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, issued on 16 October, for trade union action across the world to “End all complicity and stop arming Israel”.

To that end, we call on MEAA to support the Palestinian solidarity movement, to back calls for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land. We call on MEAA to back the strengthening of measures to protect journalists and cultural workers, to mobilise members for Palestinian solidarity, and support relevant and targeted boycott, divestment and sanction actions in line with the call from Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.

This open letter is an initiative of MEAA Members for Palestine. To view the list of current signatories and add your name, you can use this form.