As I write this article the “alleged” Gaza genocide is nearing its 12th month. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military action, with official death figures almost certainly underestimated. The mass murder of Palestinians by Israel, made possible by Western governments and defended/obscured by news media, is unjustifiable and a stain on our collective humanity.
And although Gaza must remain in focus it’s worth looking at the ramifications this destruction has had on communities across the world. Today we’re going to look at the Film and TV Charity’s recent report analysing the mental health impacts the events in Gaza are having on UK Arab, Muslim & Jewish film and TV workers.
Disclaimer
This survey doesn’t give any details on the respondent’s views on the Gaza genocide. Therefore any claims that results are skewed by bias towards actions taken by any group is unacceptable. Israel’s actions don’t represent the worldwide Jewish community. To claim they do is antisemitic. Similarly, to make any hostile inferences based on the contributions of Arab and Muslim respondents is racist and Islamaphobic.
Findings
From December 2023 until early January 2024 the Film and TV charity distributed an online survey among specific industry groups. Intending to find out how the events in Gaza and Israel had affected particular industry workers. As well as to form a picture of prior discrimination faced by Muslim, Arab and Jewish workers.
The final report found Jewish; Arab and Muslim workers overwhelmingly felt their mental health had deteriorated since October 7th 2023. Both cohorts overwhelmingly said that UK media organisations treated their community unfairly (80% of Arab and Muslim workers and 68% of Jewish workers). Also, similar percentages of both groups felt the events of October 7th and beyond resulted in the deterioration of how they are treated by others in the workplace (41% of Arab and Muslim workers and 40% of Jewish workers).
Additionally, 40% of Arab and Muslim respondents said they had already had negative industry experiences because of their identity pre-October 7th. 80% of the same communities agreed the industry was institutionally discriminatory towards them. While over half felt unsupported by employers after October 7th and thought the industry was unwelcoming and unsafe.
A significant number of Jewish and Arab and Muslim participants reported the events on and after October 7th as having impacted their work well-being in some way. Plus both were likely to encounter regular hostility towards their community in the workplace. However, a greater percentage of Muslim and Arab respondents reported being negatively impacted in both cases.
Recommendations
After compiling the findings the charity organised several discussions with industry leaders to propose solutions to these problems.
Some of the main solutions included (among other things):
- Providing training and education across the industry on what islamophobia, anti-Arab discrimination and antisemitism are. Clear guidelines on how to spot and report incidents (as well as robust reporting systems). With a zero-tolerance policy towards these attitudes.
- Carrying out schemes to ensure diverse on-screen representation to all the discussed communities. As well as creating programming specifically aimed at being inclusive to “‘Muslim’, ‘Asian’ or ‘Arab'” communities.
- Fostering inclusive industry attitudes. This can be done by respecting important holidays for Jewish staff and education on religious and cultural practices relating to Muslim and Arab staff. Creating Jewish, Arab and Muslim work groups as well as an industry-wide Arab and Muslim group to act as advocates for community issues. Recognising the diverse spectrum of Jewish identity (race, ethnicity, identity, or religion). Setting up hiring targets for Muslim and Arab staff within industry hubs, and enforcing the rights of Muslim and Arab workers to join police-approved marches and post information from recognised sources on social media without fearing for their professional security.
- An independent review of news content across major channels relating to what is happening in Gaza and how it impacts staff from all discussed communities.
In Closing
These recommendations definitely are a good thing. That said other measures should be considered regarding the current tragedy in Gaza.
Over the past year, the UK media has consistently misrepresented or demonised Palestinians as well as Muslims and Arab people. Framing the Israel-Palestine “conflict” as stemming from religious hatred of Jewish people rather than oppression and occupation. With demonstrations concerned about Palestinian safety often framed around questions of them being hateful or potentially antisemitic. Thereby conflating denouncement of Israel’s actions with Jewish people’s safety, despite many Jewish communities speaking out against Israel.
If the industry is to rebuild trust with these communities it must ensure safety for all these groups, educate workers on how to root out bigotry, it must stop the conflation of Jewish identity with Israel’s actions, recognise the experiences and humanity of Palestinians, along with Muslims and Arab cultures generally, and stop framing their rights as conflicting with Jewish people.