700 US actors, directors and performers denounce entertainment unions’ silence on Gaza and McCarthyite “repression” of pro-Palestinian views

A group of more than 700 actors, directors, writers and other film professionals has issued an open letter calling on the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and other entertainment industry guilds to issue a public statement calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The open letter also demands that SAG-AFTRA and other unions condemn the blacklisting of pro-Palestinian union members, which has gone on since Israel’s genocidal spree began 11 months ago.

The open letter is diplomatic in some of its language, but the material it presents, most of which has not been mentioned in the press coverage of the protest, is devastating enough. As the Israeli government reveals itself on a daily basis to be nothing more than a machine for murder and terror, the widest possible opposition to its criminality must be mounted.

The letter, in the name of SAG-AFTRA & Sister Guild Members for Ceasefire, notes that following “SAG-AFTRA’s statement in sympathy with Israel regarding October 7 … our union leadership has remained silent.” Meanwhile,

many SAG-AFTRA and sister guild members have watched in horror as the Israeli government wages a war of collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza — killing over 40,000 Palestinians, injuring over 90,000 more, forcibly displacing 2 million people, and openly targeting members of the press and their families. As the IDF continues its assault on “safe zones,” schools, and hospitals, and as civilians in Gaza die from starvation, dehydration, and lack of medical supplies and fuel, major human rights groups have labeled these acts as war crimes, human rights atrocities, and even genocide. The UN has described Gaza as a “graveyard for children” — and estimate that by mid-July “half of the population — more than a million people — could face death and starvation.” As of now, there is no end in sight — only escalation, death, and destruction.

Moreover, the protest goes on,

SAG-AFTRA and nearly all our sister guilds have remained silent in the face of flagrant and unprecedented attacks on freedom of the press, including the deliberate targeting and murder of Palestinian journalists and their families by the IDF. The Committee to Protect Journalists has declared the war on Gaza “the deadliest period for journalists covering conflict since CPJ began tracking in 1992.” Some of those journalists were members of news organizations whose domestic affiliates are represented under SAG-AFTRA contracts. While SAG-AFTRA issued a public statement at the outset of the Ukraine war demanding that “journalists of all nations working in the war zone are kept safe,” its words now ring hollow if they only apply to some journalists of certain identities.

The open letter was signed by prominent figures such as actors and performers Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon, Susan Sarandon and Rosie O’Donnell. Riz Ahmed, Common, Busy Philipps, Richa Moorjani, Griffin Dunne, Kendrick Sampson, Indya Moore, Sara Ramirez, Amrit Kaur, Bruce Cohen, James Schamus, Lorenza Izzo and Saul Williams are among the other notable figures who signed the letter.

The various signatories are members of SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Writers Guild, Teamsters, Directors Guild, Equity, American Federation of Musicians, Hollywood Basic Crafts, Casting Society of America and Producers Guild.