On Friday March 8, rank-and-file members from Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) for Palestine organised a rally outside the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to support Antoniette Lattouf. Lattouf was inside before the FWC delivering closing remarks in her unfair dismissal case against the ABC.
Chair of the rally, Stephen Dobson told Honi Soit that MEAA for Palestine was formed around the sign-on statement for a stronger stance on Palestine within the union, and it is one of many actions taken after Lattouf was abruptly dismissed from her five-day contract.
Other names that have been fired after voicing support for Palestine, include Jackson Frank (Philly Voice), Zahraa Al Akhrass (Canada’s Global News), Kasem Raad Axel (Springer), and Issam Adwan in Gaza.
Dobson also claimed that at least 6 people are facing internal investigation at the ABC, after separately publishing a letter of support and have been told they are not to work in Palestine reporting.
He emphasised that if the workplace culture was to be changed, the boss must be changed too. If the genocide continues, so does the disciplining of workers, demonstrating that “you can get away with it with another population.”
Chants throughout the rally included, “Free Palestine”, “If journalists are under attack, what do we do? Stand up and fight back”, and “ABC, tell the truth.” Police presence was situated on both sides of the gathering in front of the William St building.
Cassie Derrick, Director of Media at MEAA, opened the proceedings, followed by ex-MEAA President Marcus Strom.
Maz from Tzedek Collective spoke to the fact that the mainstream Jewish community is “heavily tied up with Zionism”, and that they are “trying to create an alternative” since “Israel and Zionism have never spoken for all of us.” Maz denounced having their Jewish identity used as a “shield for genocide”, especially as “Israel benefits from Jews in the diaspora feeling less safe.”
Maz then urged attendees to read the essay, In the Shadow of the Holocaust, noting that the act of “conflating genuine antisemitism with mild criticism of the Israeli government” is dangerous.
“To truly fit antisemitism we need to see it more clearly…to fight against genocide, we need to recognise it.”
Jarrod from Public Service Association (PSA) for Palestine argued that “as public servants, we’re supposed to serve the public”, and asked “whose rights get defended by colonialism, apartheid and genocide.”
Jarrod exclaimed, “When I see Albanese and Minns speak… what a bunch of stupid white bastards.” He stated that “the bosses of our bosses do not care one iota about defending our rights” and that progressives are afraid to call it a genocide.
“I come from a proud tradition of Aboriginal men… when I found out about the history of Palestine, it broke my heart…we are all Indigenous people but my blood is their blood and their blood is my blood.”
Pointing to the consistency of the protest movement, he noted that “we’re still coming week after week month after month and we’re not going to stop until it stops.” Jarrod also recognised the 24/7 picketing in front of Albanese’s Marrickville office 24/7 as “pissing [Albanese] off” and that “it is not Albo’s house, it is our house now.”
He concluded his speech by promising to “take out all you bastards at the next election, warning Albanese that he is “going to get into the Centrelink line soon.”
Rafaat Barakat spoke about his Palestinian identity whose “mere existence is a threat to Zionism” and revealed that he is learning that in Australia “sweeping things under the rug” is the norm.
“What kind of developed world is this?” Barakat asked, where he could be deemed aggressive for showing slight feelings or emotions. Instead, he has to observe the news which casually says “30,000 have died” instead of “brutally murdered.”
Barakat exclaimed, “Are we not blond enough or white enough? Does the brown colour of my skin entitle me to less rights….I’m really scared to know the actual answer to this question.”
He concluded that there is “strength in our own diversity” and we must actively work in our bubble to speak up and no matter what, “the sky is not going to fall.”
The following speaker preferred not to say where they worked so as not to “be punished” and noted their complicity as a white person. Palestinians “have to beg for a skerrick of sympathy… humanity”, while more deaths occur “since you started typing that sentence” for an article.
They also revealed that earlier on in the day, a white woman walked past and said, “You know they kill lesbians in Palestine.” They reiterated that this is “not a valid excuse to support Zionism, and that their “white queerness does not erase [their] duty to stand up against genocide”. It was also encouraged that if any MEAAA member feels that they cannot speak up in their workplace, to “tell your union representatives at [the] federal level.”
Matte from Trade Unionists for Palestine and the NTEU at USyd, began by taking a stance “with all workers facing political oppression in their workplace.” Matte praised teachers wearing keffiyehs to work but acknowledged that “we’re still at a stage where you can be brought into the principal’s office”.
He also spoke to the militarism on the USyd campus, and the now ex-Chancellor Belinda Hutcherson being a former chairman of Thales who was “implicated in genocide”.
Matte stated that “Antoniette’s sacking should have never happened and that the real crime is genocide…Let’s hope Antoniette wins her case”.
Yehuda, part of Teachers and School Staff for Palestine, was an attendee who asked to speak after the speeches concluded. As a Jewish person, Yehuda said that it “influences my support for this movement”, especially after learning about the Holocaust at a young age and pledging “never again.”
Yehuda reiterated that teachers, more than anyone else, can “facilitate conversation” with their curious students about what is happening in the world. He also stated that corporations have continued to show they “stand by profit-driven motives” and that “there is no body or representative that can speak for me that supports genocide.”
Regarding South Africa’s case against the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Yehuda said that “we knew justice would not come at the hands of the courts”, instead real justice comes from “unionists, teachers, journalists and the persistent fight of Palestinians”, concluding with the statement, “we stand with Antoniette.”
Honi Soit also stands with Antoniette Lattouf. We also stand for a stronger ABC that is not swayed by lobbying, and one that is a beacon of truth for all that is in the public interest.
Found on a noticeboard in Wilkinson Building
