Palestinian Arts Workers Call for Solidarity

Palestinian cultural workers living through apartheid, occupation, and genocide are calling for solidarity from their counterparts abroad.

Not every artist has as large a platform as rapper Macklemore, children’s TV star Miss Rachel, or country singer Zach Bryan—who wore a “Free Palestine” shirt last weekend while playing a packed show at the same stadium where billionaire Robert Kraft had barred Macklemore for saying those words—but there’s plenty that artists and art workers can do to end complicity in Israel’s ongoing atrocities.

We as Palestinians have long decried Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now the Palestinian Performing Arts Network (PPAN), representing hundreds of Palestinian dancers, actors, musicians, playwrights, and circus performers, has outlined four ways that U.S. arts unions can lend solidarity:

1. Reject the blacklisting and censorship of members who speak out on behalf of Palestinian rights.

For example, British Actors’ Equity passed a motion in the UK’s Trade Union Congress, representing 5 million workers, affirming the right of artists to “critique institutions and bring attention to issues through overtly political art without fear of censorship or losing their public funding.”

In the U.S., over 700 entertainment industry union members signed a 2024 open letter calling on SAG-AFTRA to back a ceasefire, protect members from blacklisting, and condemn the targeting of journalists.

2. Refuse to work with institutions and corporations—such as venues, festivals, publishers, broadcasters, and foundations—that are verifiably complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians, and divest union funds from such corporations.

In fall 2025, over 5,500 film industry workers signed such a pledge. Earlier that year, Norway’s actors union Norsk Skuespillerforbund (NSF) recommended that its members “reject work and collaboration with Israeli cultural institutions that operate in violation of the Palestinian cultural boycott.”

3. Exclude Israel from international labor federations such as the International Federation of Actors (FIA) and International Federation of Musicians (FIM).

4. Pressure governments to compel Israel to end its genocide and apartheid through lawful sanctions.

“Historically, including in the struggle that ended apartheid in South Africa, organized labor has been the working person’s leverage,” the PPAN said. “[Unions are] a powerful force for peace and justice when governments fail.”

UNION MOVES

Drawing inspiration from the global movement to end South African apartheid, Palestinian unions and workers have consistently called on unions worldwide to use sanctions, boycotts, and divestment (BDS) campaigns as pressure points to end Israel’s genocide and occupation.

The United Auto Workers has endorsed divestment from Israel bonds and acted on it. Since 2023, a smattering of Palestine solidarity groups across unions have pushed for pension fund divestment, joined other unions abroad to block arms to Israel at international docks, and protested complicit corporations>.

The United Auto Workers, the United Electrical Workers (UE), National Nurses United, and the Painters have also thrown their support behind an end to military funding to Israel and divestment. UE also became the first national union to endorse the BDS movement.

Some rank and filers have been forming loose solidarity networks like Entertainment Labor for Palestine, Purple Up for Palestine (SEIU), CWA4Palestine, and IATSE Members for Palestine.

Union members can find resources like Ethical Investment and Ethical Procurement Policies to keep union pension funds and vendor contracts out of companies complicit in human rights abuses anywhere, including Palestine.

In the UK, on September 8, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called illegal settlements in the West Bank “ethnic cleansing,” as part of the announcement of sanctions against Israel. Shortly thereafter, the UK’s Trade Union Congress, representing 5 million workers, endorsed the Palestinian-led BDS movement.

ATROCITIES ONGOING

The calls come as Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza reaches horrifying numbers. At least 80,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israel as of January 2025, which is likely an undercount as Israel’s destruction in Gaza is so extensive that it has obstructed our ability to even count our dead. Israeli settlers’ land theft in the West Bank has drawn condemnation from 12 countries including Canada, France, and Britain.

Over the past few years international human rights organizations and institutions from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice to Amnesty International and Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem have corroborated what Palestinians have been saying for years—determining that Israel is committing the crimes of apartheid, illegal occupation, and genocide.

Since 2023, a majority of the U.S. public has consistently supported ending military aid to Israel. Yet tens of billions of our taxpayer dollars continue to flow to Israel to fund its military actions, instead of being used to meet workers’ needs. Meanwhile working families in the U.S. face cuts to education, health care, and housing.

This is one practical basis for solidarity between workers here and in Palestine. Our tax dollars shouldn’t enable Israel’s war crimes. They should go to ensuring a dignified life for all, through more funding for social services, community needs, affordable housing, and accessible health care.

Mona Abhari is the North America labor organizer for the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment Movement.