“It is time to show that unions, as the most important force for workers, know how to take responsibility and take a stand when terrible crimes unfold before our eyes,” the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (SNH) wrote in a call to action. Together with the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND), SNH appealed to other labor groups and the wider public to join a protest on August 28 in response to the genocide in Gaza and the deliberate killing of more than 240 Palestinian reporters.

SNH union leader and current president of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Maja Sever, told Peoples Dispatch that the importance of media workers speaking out about the ongoing genocide cannot be overstated. “The first and simplest reason is that there is currently a genocide happening, and that is why media workers must speak out,” Sever explained. “They have a key role in shaping public opinion, and when mainstream media relativizes or silences the violence against Gaza’s civilian population – when they silence the genocide – there is a danger of normalizing the war and occupation. That, in turn, risks enabling the continuation of the genocide and the destruction of the Palestinian people. Silence or neutrality in this case truly amounts to participation in covering up the crime.”

The killing of Gaza’s media workers, SNH and HND warned, has dangerous implications for press freedom more broadly as well. “Their deaths send a dangerous message: that the truth must not be heard,” the two organizations added in their announcement. “By blocking access to Gaza for foreign journalists, the Israeli military is silencing freedom of expression and the public’s right to know. We are witnessing the literal silencing of voices of truth, of journalists – by starving them to death.”

Silence during a genocide: a moral and political disgrace

In recent months, journalists’ associations in Croatia, particularly their trade union, have organized initiatives denouncing the targeting of reporters in the Gaza Strip. Among them was a collaborative project with local artists, who produced dozens of portraits of journalists killed by Israeli occupation forces since October 7, 2023. During Thursday’s action, union members, artists, and cultural workers carried these prints in a march toward the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where they reiterated demands for the Croatian government to act against the genocide.

Portraits of Palestinian media workers by local artists in Croatia. Source: SNH

In a letter to national institutions, Sever and HND head Hrvoje Zovko condemned the government’s silence and ongoing cooperation with Israeli authorities. “The refusal of Croatian diplomacy to support a review of the EU–Israel Association Agreement, as well as the absence of a clear condemnation of the blockade of aid and the attacks on journalists, is deeply disappointing and morally unacceptable,” they wrote. “It is a moral and political disgrace to see the Croatian government remain silent at this moment.”

Ahead of the protest, activists, journalists, and actors shared messages of support on social media. On Thursday, media workers were joined by other Palestine solidarity groups. Among the speakers, alongside Sever and Zovko, were Dina Vozab of the Initiative for Academic Solidarity and Epistemic Justice, Nina Čolović from the Free Palestine Initiative, poet Monika Herceg, and SNH member Emil Čančar.

Unions’ responsibility to stand in solidarity with Palestine

“What is happening in Gaza is the collapse of human civilization,” Zovko said. “It is a slap in the face to humanity, something horrific and unacceptable. And as we stand here now, there is a high probability that at this very moment a child, a woman, or one of our colleagues is being killed – intentionally.”

Read more: The Global Sumud Flotilla: Over 50 ships will set sail for Gaza

Speakers agreed that Israel must be held accountable for its war crimes and that Europe has a critical role to play. “That is why we demand accountability,” Sever said during her speech. “We want a Europe that defends media freedom not only with words, but with actions.”

Labor unions’ engagement towards this goal and building a strong solidarity movement with Palestine is essential, she told Peoples Dispatch. “The role of trade unions is much broader than the common perception that unions are solely concerned with protecting labor rights and working conditions,” Sever said. “Unions are not simply negotiators for wages and collective agreements, but social actors with the power and obligation to respond when serious crimes and mass violations of human rights are taking place before the eyes of the world.”

“Our protests are not only an act of support for the Palestinian people and fellow journalists, but also a reminder that the trade union movement has a social responsibility – to be a force that unites workers, citizens, and the international community in a common fight against injustice.”

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