| Nickname | WAWOG |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2023 |
| Location |
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| Website | https://www.writersagainstthewarongaza.com/ |
Writers Against the War on Gaza (also known asWAWOG) is a coalition of writers, academics, artists, journalists, and culture workers seeking to protest theGaza war andGaza genocide and to mobilize forPalestinian liberation via cultural organizing.[1][2] Their tactics are based on Vietnam War-era culture worker mobilization, and, in particular, the organizationAmerican Writers Against the Vietnam War.[1]
WAWOG was formed in October 2023 by a group of writers and editors who came together to protest the Gaza war.[1] In an interview withMother Jones, one of the founding members said that after theOctober 7 attacks, they began receiving a lot of petitions and open letters in support of Palestine in their inbox.[1] The founding members wanted to create infrastructure to help the aims of the petitions they were signing be realized.[1] On October 26, WAWOG put out their own open letter, "Writers Against the War on Gaza Statement of Solidarity."[3][2] By November, WAWOG's organizing committee had approximately 30 people.[1]
WAWOG defines itself as an organization participating in a "cultural boycott" of Israel.[1] They seek to show that Israel's actions in Gaza are "not normal" and to resist theconflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism.[2] They also want to makePalestinian liberation mainstream, and to pressure the media to cover theIsrael-Palestine conflict in a way that uplifts Palestinian voices.[1]
The group's tactics are informed by theBoycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a non-violent method that seeks toeconomically sanction Israel into complying withinternational law.[1] WAWOG also finds inspiration in the organizationACT UP, which produced art thatshed light on theHIV/AIDS epidemic.[1] Actions taken by WAWOG members include quitting positions at publications that members say spreadbiased or incorrect information about the Gaza war[1][4] and staging protests of US cultural institutions (such as theNew York Times) that members say have similar bias.[5]
Initially calling the New York group "Writer's Bloc," WAWOG staged their first sit-in at theNew York Times.[6] They carried a banner calling for a ceasefire, distributed a fake newspaper namedThe New York War Crimes, and read the names of all of the Palestinians killed in Gaza.[6] WAWOG accused theNew York Times of being "complicit in laundering genocide."[6] Volume 1, No. 1-3 over 7,000 names, released by the Gaza Health Ministry by October, were printed using a broadsheet format.
"We initially listed the names of martyrs. About 7,000 had just been released by the Gaza Health Ministry in late October and it took us three issues to print all those names. Since then, the breakdown of the health system in Gaza has meant there is no single list of names of people who have been killed by Zionist forces. So we then started using the broadsheet format to print new writing."[7]
On November 23, WAWOG members jumped the barricades at theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and glued their hands to the ground to make themselves more difficult to remove by theNew York Police Department.[8] Parade floats navigated around the protesters as they chanted "Free Palestine", poured fake blood on each other and in the street, and opened a large sign that said "Genocide then genocide now."[8]
WAWOG held a vigil forPalestinian journalists killed in the Gaza war on the steps of theNew York Public Library on December 19.[9][10] At the vigil, the writers read out the Palestinian writer and activistRefaat Aleer's poem, "If I Must Die," due to him being slain in the war.[9] They also read out the names of Palestinian journalists who had been killed in Gaza.[9][10] WAWOG held a similar vigil on January 24, 2024.[11]
On January 8, WAWOG coordinated withPalestinian Youth Movement,The Palestine Right to Return Coalition,Samidoun,Democratic Socialists of America,Jewish Voice for Peace, theParty for Socialism and Liberation, andCritical Resistance to block theBrooklyn Bridge,Manhattan Bridge,Holland Tunnel, andWilliamsburg Bridge.[12]
WAWOG protestedThe New York Times again on February 29 following the release of their article, "Screams Without Words," which alleged targeted rape and sexual violence byHamas on October 7.[13] They held a press conference in front of the building holding mock-biographies ofNew York Times authors.[13] WAWOG called to the BDS movement, requesting that supporters follow BDU (Boycott, Divest, and Unsubscribe) from theTimes.[13]
On March 14, WAWOG attempted to take theNew York Times out of circulation for an entire day.[14] According to an activist at the blockade, the group was trying to take theTimes out of circulation because,
"People view it as this repository of objective knowledge, but it's actually at the forefront of manufacturing consent for this war. We want to challenge that, and create a vacuum where other things are possible."[14]
WAWOG members used PVC pipes and chains to link their arms more tightly.[15] The protesters were pressured to leave by NYPD'sStrategic Response Group at 3 am, and the paper's distribution was ultimately not disrupted for the day.[14][15]
Also on March 14, WAWOG members distributed their publication,The New York War Crimes, outside ofThe New York Times to other people who supported the cause.[15] NYPD arrested 124 people at the protest.[15] WAWOG's website,The New York War Crimes, also launched that day.[15] A detailed historical analysis,The New York Times vs. History, was simultaneously published online. The report reviewed theNew York Times’ archive to reveal a record of support for American wars on foreign soil, support for right-wing dictatorships, and U.S.-backed regime-change.[16] Archives included coverage of Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, Brazil in 1964, Iraq in 2003, Libya in 2011, Venezuela and Bolivia in 2019, and Cuba in 2021.[17]
WAWOG Los Angeles held a vigil for slain Palestinian writers and journalists on January 18, 2024.[11]
On February 2, 2024, WAWOG protested aPEN America event featuringMayim Bialik, who supports Israel and does not support the ceasefire movement.[18] WAWOG turned on a speaker and played the names of 13 Palestinian writers and poets killed by theIDF in the war.[18] The Palestinian-American writerRanda Jarrar was removed by security after refusing to leave.[18] WAWOG members signed an open letter to PEN America condemning the hosting of Bialik as well as Jarrar's removal.[19]
Film Workers for Palestine,SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire, and WAWOG held a protest of theOscars on March 10, 2024.[20]
On March 26, 2024, WAWOG Toronto joined with Film Workers for Palestine, Artists Against Artwashing, and CanLit Responds to denounceScotiabank for having significant investments inElbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer.[21] The campaign they created was called No Arms in the Arts, which pushed for Canadian arts awards to divest from Scotiabank.[21]
WAWOG operates a website titledThe New York War Crimes that has printed the following issues[22]:
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