As a light rain drizzled down, a group of journalists and Palestine supporters stood in front of the San Francisco Chronicle’s offices midday Wednesday to denounce the deaths of journalists in Gaza and Lebanon as a result of the 2023 Israeli-Hamas war.

They also called for an immediate ceasefire and for other reporters to speak out.

“Journalists have to be defended and we believe that the action that we’re taking here has to be replicated around the country,” said Steve Zeltzer, a member of the Pacific Media Workers Guild and host at Work Week Radio KPOO, an independent radio station. “Journalists have to stand up and organize and get their petitions out, so they’re defended.”

“We have to be fearful, particularly with the rise of fascism, that journalists are going to be attacked.

“In fact, (former President Donald) Trump had a rally where he called journalists ‘scum’ and journalists were threatened at a rally. This was in the United States, not someplace else,” he added.

Zeltzer also said that he is very concerned with the killing of Palestinian journalists, saying that if members of the media do not protest globally, similar incidents could be normalized in places like the U.S.

A deadly assignment

The International Federation of Journalists, a union which has about 600,000 members, has also spoken about the need to defend journalists amidst the ongoing war.

“The loss of life on both sides is already tragic. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has grave concern for the welfare of civilians and journalists alike,” information on the union’s website states.

The union also counts 67 deceased Palestinian, four Israeli and four Lebanese journalists since the start and as a result of the current conflict.

“Even with all the censoring, the brave Palestinian journalists are going out and facing death every single day to get the news out and they are getting the news out.” Lila Milos, demonstrator

Christophe Deloire, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary-General, an organization that promotes journalistic freedom across the world, said that at least 14 of the 65 journalists they confirmed have been killed in Gaza were killed in the course of their work or because of it.

Other speakers focused on alleged censorship on social media for pro-Palestinian posts and recent U.S. Votes at the United Nations regarding ceasefire resolutions.

“How can you veto a frickin’ ceasefire?” asked Lila Milos, a rank-and-file member of the University Professional and Technical Employees union at the University of California, San Francisco.

“We’re asking that the U.S. Media stop censoring, we’re asking Meta to stop censoring, we’re asking that Facebook stop censoring and we’re asking that Elon Musk stop censoring,” Milos said about allegations that Palestinian voices were being censored on social media. “Even with all the censoring, the brave Palestinian journalists are going out and facing death every single day to get the news out and they are getting the news out.”

None of the journalists who spoke at Wednesday’s gathering were affiliated with the San Francisco Chronicle.