By:  Hadassa Kalatizadeh

The largest journalist union in the United States refused efforts from the liberal wing of the guild to release a statement calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

As reported by the NY Post, members of the NewsGuild, a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933, held their own against the pressure, asserting that journalists should not take sides in the Israel-Hamas war, adding that  openly backing one side may hinder reporters from attending briefings or speaking to officials, or could even make them military targets, as per Semafor.  The guild includes over 26,000 journalists at numerous prominent newspapers, online publications and magazines including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Forbes, Miami Herald, NY Daily News, NY Post, BuzzFeed, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Hill, and the Washington Post.

Despite the strong push for the group to release a statement supporting a cease fire, the members resisted, penning a letter, obtained by Semafor.  “We believe the news we report from Israel, Gaza and throughout the world speaks for itself. There is nothing for The NewsGuild to add,” read the letter by the board of directors of The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, the NewsGuild local that represents Dow Jones.  “Readers, viewers and listeners far from a conflict zone depend on credible journalists on the scene to provide fair and unbiased reports, including facts that may not align with an individual’s preconceptions,” the letter said.  “Taking public positions on news events we cover damages the confidence our members have earned through decades of impactful reporting in war zones and throughout the world, fueling the misconception that reporters are advocates rather than observers.”

On Oct. 7, the war erupted when Hamas went on a killing spree on a Jewish sacred day, brutally murdering 1,200 Israelis and taking about 240 hostages including men, women, elderly and small children.   Since then, Israel has been on the offensive in Gaza, in an effort to dismantle the Hamas terror group, which has built underground strong holds there.  Per the Post, last week members of the union of NY Times tech employees, who are part of a separate guild from the journalists, proposed that a statement be issued to condemn Israel for the deaths of children and journalists in Gaza and demand an immediate cease fire.  “Our members are increasingly … working in environments where perspectives normalizing the Israeli assault are endorsed as objectivity, and reporting on the collective punishment is marginalized, dismissed, or penalized as bias,” the tech group’s proposal said. “We join thousands of our colleagues and millions of others around the world in calling, in no uncertain terms, for an immediate ceasefire.”

The NewsGuild members had deliberated about making such a statement, but ultimately decided against it.  The union has said that it will form a “working group” to craft a statement for release in December, which doesn’t call for a cease-fire, but rather focuses on the “rights and protections that unionized workers have to express personal views without professional repercussions.”  Following the decision not to issue a statement calling for a cease fire, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters had rallied outside the Times’ headquarters.

Over 750 journalists from news organizations including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and the Guardian signed their own open letter condemning Israel’s “killing of journalists in Gaza” and steady bombing in the region.