Media union backtracks on Gaza statement that blamed Israel alone for the ongoing war

Complaints by members of a Canadian media union over a public statement on dangers faced by on-the-ground journalists in Gaza prompted a quick edit that didn’t blame only Israel for the crisis.

The Canadian Media Guild (CMG), a trade union representing 6,000 Canadian media workers, issued a statement Thursday afternoon decrying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its impact on journalism and journalists, but several union members were upset their union’s statement blamed just one side in the conflict.

The CMG statement is titled “Journalists in Gaza.”

“Many journalists in Gaza have died during this war, either actively at work or seeking shelter with their families,” the statement says. “Over the past week, the world has relied on the work of remaining journalists in Gaza to document the starvation and continued bombings, even as organizations have raised alarms over the declining health of these media workers and their families.”

The CMG statement calls on the Israeli government to allow international journalists access to Gaza to report on the situation. Several news agencies recently reported on harsh conditions facing freelance journalists they rely on for on-the-ground reporting inside Gaza.

The union’s original statement concluded: “The CMG also join (other media organizations, humanitarian groups, and governments) in calling on the Israeli government to end the hostilities, cease the inhumane treatment of civilians in Gaza, and allow the flow of necessary food and supplies provided by international humanitarian organizations into the territory.”

It was that last sentence that particularly bothered some members.

“The problem with the press release was if you knew nothing about the conflict and just read that press release, you would have the impression that Israel mounted an unprovoked attack on Palestinian civilians in an attempt to annihilate them,” said a CMG union member who works at CBC and who asked not to be named for fear of jeopardizing union support in a precarious job market.

“There is no mention of Hamas’ role in any of this; not in the massacre that triggered the war, not for holding hostages, and most significantly in terms of this press release, no mention of Hamas looting aid delivery,” the member said.

The union’s executive soon received “feedback from members,” prompting a re-evaluation and an edit the following day, said Andreea Mihai, spokeswoman for the CMG.

“In response to feedback from members, we clarified the language in the statement to underscore our call for ‘all parties’ to cease hostilities and to reaffirm our focus on the safety of media professionals,” Mihai told National Post.

The updated version of the release , changed late Friday afternoon, leaves that last sentence intact but adds a postscript below it, reading: “Finally, the CMG calls on all parties to end the hostilities and cease the inhumane treatment of civilians in the region.”

The new version of the release includes a notation: “This communication has been adjusted for clarification.”

Mihai said that as a media union, the CMG “believes it is essential to recognize and respond to the impact global conflicts have on both our members and media workers worldwide,” Mihai said.

“The statement issued by CMG is part of that ongoing commitment to advocate for the protection of all media workers, regardless of location or employer. It called for humanitarian access, journalistic freedom, and an end to hostilities; values that are at the core of our work as a union.

“Our intention was not to take a political stance, but to draw attention to the unacceptable conditions faced by journalists and reaffirm the essential role they play in keeping the world informed,” she said.

The union member, who said several other members expressed similar concerns, said the union’s original statement could make reporting on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza more difficult for its members.

“The fact that there is no acknowledgement that there is culpability beyond just Israel makes it clear that the union is picking a side, and that’s disgraceful when you consider it is a union representing thousands of journalists whose job it is to be impartial observers.”

The CMG controversy is another example of internal conflict that can arise when unions that represent diverse memberships take public stances on divisive issues, particularly outside of their core mandates.

Broader social activism has long been a sensitive feature of trade unions, from its century-old roots when unionization was often seen as an ideological battle between socialism and capitalism. As unionism embraced more industries and increasingly diverse workers, internal quarrels arose from union support for political parties or stands on divisive social issues, especially emotional matters, such as international wars, abortion rights, apartheid, and more recently, transgender rights.

The Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s fierce response in Gaza have been particularly polarizing.

Public stances on issues can be particularly sensitive for unions representing news workers. Reporters sometimes complain of their union advocating for a political party — just as they sometimes complain of their employers publishing editorial endorsements — while they are out in the field trying to remain impartial.

The CMG is the collective bargaining representative for workers at the English and French sides of CBC, Canadian workers at news agencies The Canadian Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, and some TV and radio stations, including Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and TV Ontario.

Their members are in a range of media jobs, from on-air hosts and reporters who audiences see and read, to producers, photographers, support staff and customer service workers.

In May, the union released a statement urging governments to prioritize the safety of journalists and media workers “as deaths rise in the Israel–Gaza conflict.” Earlier in July, the union called for immediate protection of journalists in Iran.

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