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HEALTHCARE WORKERS FOR PALESTINE: CALL TO ACTION TOOLKIT
This toolkit was adapted from the DEify CBR Call to Action toolkit, created by Deify.CBR on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country. We (members of Healthcare Workers for Palestine) created this adaptation with the intention of building solidarity within the healthcare profession in Naarm and further, in response to the unfolding genocide in Palestine.
We honour the peoples of the Kulin Nations, on whose lands we live and work, and extend this to the broader Sovereign Nations of the Southeast across whose lands we organise. Sovereignty of these lands was never ceded- this always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.
These lands have been a holding place for organising, storytelling, community building and resistance for over 80,000 years. We extend deepest respect to the Elders of these nations, and all First Nations peoples globally. In our resistance efforts, we learn from you. We express gratitude for your leadership and generosity, and stand with you as First Nations and non-First Nations people in the fight for, and joy of, decolonisation.
Within this, we specifically honour Palestinian peoples, who teach us so much about resistance to colonialism and unwavering commitment to their lands, family and community. We name both the unbelievable weight of Israel’s genocidal project that Palestinian people are forced to carry, and the strength of Palestinians in resisting daily, expressing joy and building international movements.
In this document you will find tools to:
LEARN MORE
Join Healthcare Workers for Palestine
First-hand accounts from healthcare workers in Palestine
Healthcare Workers for Palestine Full Statement
TAKE ACTION
Union and professional body actions
Boycott Divest and Sanction in Healthcare
Local demonstrations and solidarity groups
Poster PDF: spread the word
We are healthcare workers organising collectively to:
We acknowledge that we work on the unceded lands of the Sovereign Nations of the Southeast, and we recognise the ongoing solidarity between Indigenous communities here and in Palestine. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
Join the WhatsApp group to keep updated on planning and actions
In Gaza, healthcare workers are providing care under extreme duress, daily horror and risk of death. The ongoing Israeli bombardment and blockade of medical resources, food, water and fuel has meant practising in unimaginably dangerous conditions for both workers and patients. They are practising through grief, trauma, loss and terror, and their commitment to their patients’ right to healthcare is unwavering. As fellow health workers, it is vital that we witness this. We must respond to their voices by showing up in tangible solidarity.
“If I go, who treats my patients? We are not animals. We have the right to receive proper healthcare. Do you think I went to medical school for 14 years just to think about my own life?”
prior to his death during an Israeli airstrike
“We have exhausted every drop of fuel in the Gaza strip, and this is a warning directed to the world. Our fuel stock will run out tomorrow. Ten minutes after the power cuts, all patients on artificial respiration will die”
“The occupation bombed the main oxygen line and thus sentenced all device patients to death”
“We will not leave the hospital, and we will not abandon our patients, no matter the cost”
Friday Nov 10
“We’re currently besieged in Shifa Hospital, no water, no food, no electricity… The situation is catastrophic beyond limits. The hospital’s courtyard is full of dead bodies”
Monday Nov 12
“There are 120 ‘Wounded Child with No Surviving Family” currently at Shifa Hospital. These are the ones without even distant relatives surviving”
“Shifa Hospital has collapsed. Wounded and staff leaving in droves. Missile attacks this morning on outpatient department which housed internally displaced”
“News that Israeli soldiers have entered Shifa Hospital. Israel declares victory over a hospital”
“The wounded
“My heart is broken
Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah FRCS: reconstructive surgeon at Al Shifa Hospital and Al Ahli Hospital
Prince Kouta: nurse in Northern Gaza
Dr Fadel Naim: orthopaedic surgeon at Al Ahli Hospital
Gaza Medic Voices: first-hand accounts from medics in Gaza
Palestine Red Crescent Society
Other Palestinian accounts to follow: compiled by @sbeih.jpg
As healthcare workers,
We grieve the loss of all Palestinian and Israeli lives. All human life is precious. This belief is central to our practice of giving care, that affirms all peoples’ right to health. It is from this standpoint that we recognise the root cause of this loss of life lies with the Israeli state and its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. In order to prevent further violence and loss of life, we call on the Australian Government, healthcare professional bodies and health unions to:
We firmly oppose antisemitism and islamophobia. In the same spirit of fighting for justice and against oppression, we stand firmly in opposition to Zionist colonial violence.
As healthcare workers,
We are deeply horrified by the acute and long-lasting health impacts of the violence being enacted on Gaza. Israel continues to tactically and strategically decimate health infrastructure as a means of violently displacing Palestinians from their homes. Under the UN’s Geneva convention, this is a war crime.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities in Gaza are being directly, intentionally, repeatedly, and unjustifiably targeted by the Israeli state. Bombs, missiles, white phosphorus, sniper attacks, and the ground invasion targeting hospitals and hospital grounds are resulting in the deaths and horrific injuries of staff, patients, and forcibly displaced civilians seeking refuge at healthcare sites.
Hospitals currently still functioning are dangerously overcrowded, with a constant influx of trauma patients. Healthcare workers are deprived of adequate food, sleep, and water; and are themselves traumatised. Medical staff are operating on patients by phone and torch light, on the ground, in tents, in the open air, and without anaesthetics, antibiotics or blood for transfusion (Sebouai, 2023), (Mansoor, 2023), (Harouda et al., 2023).
The ongoing siege and current blockade have drastically restricted the availability of fuel, electricity, and medical supplies, significantly impeding the provision of healthcare. Ambulance convoys and trucks carrying critical medical medical aid, food, hygiene supplies and water have also been targeted (Al-Mughrabi, 2023), (Bushard, 2023). Patients are now dying as incubators, respirators, dialysis machines, and other life-sustaining equipment have shut down, due to the ongoing blockade of fuel, electricity and purposeful destruction of solar panels.
Orders for health workers to evacuate hospitals have been deemed “impossible” by ??, due to the absence of safe evacuation routes, destinations, and transport (). Healthcare staff are thus forced to make the desperate choice between attempting to flee for their own safety, or risking their lives to stay with their most vulnerable patients who cannot be moved. Patients are attempting to evacuate mere hours and days after traumatic injuries, including following limb amputations, and major reconstructive surgery.
Amongst this?, the International Rescue Committee has warned of an imminent infectious disease outbreak, due to a lack of clean water, functioning toilets and limited access to proper sanitation (). (cholera, maggots)
As healthcare workers,
We find our power in holding our health systems accountable to all peoples’ right to life, self-determination and the highest attainable standards of health. We are witnessing a genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people off their lands. We have a duty to do everything in our power to resist this violence. In our professional lives, we are often encouraged to remain neutral. We affirm in this statement that neutrality in health spaces does not mean depoliticising our care. Silence in the face of blatant violence is not a neutral position. It is imperative that we speak out against harm, while still fulfilling our duty of impartial care to all patients.
Lastly, we must prepare for the ongoing fight ahead of us. Solidarity with Palestinian peoples, and all peoples oppressed by colonisation, does not end with a ceasefire. We must come together, organise, draw on our expertise and share in our humanity.
By Australian Healthcare Students’ Palestine Action Network (AHSPAN)
Read the Health Students and Workers Briefer - On Palestine here
By Healthcare Workers For Palestine International
Palestine is: education and advocacy toolbox to advance justice for Palestine
Gaza Unlocked: first-hand accounts from Palestinians living in Gaza
A Guide To Palestine for Beginners: Short summaries and links to resources
Decolonize Palestine: resources to learn more on Palestine
As union members,
We stand in a tradition of peace, justice, and solidarity with working people. We must put this solidarity into action, and stand together with our fellow healthcare workers in Palestine, and with the Palestinian people.
Millions of workers participated in the struggle against the Apartheid regime in South Africa through boycotts, work bans, campaigns, lobbying and strikes. We join together with unionised workers across countless industries and professions to resist the Israeli occupation today.
The AMA has issued a statement, however
The ANMF has issued a statement, however it is our view it does not call for enough action from the Australian government.
HACSU has issued a statement. While this statement calls for a ceasefire, as members we demand HACSU take a stronger stance in: advocating for the stopping of defence exports to Israel; applying pressure to the Victorian government to stop investing in Elbit Systems; applying pressure to HESTA to divest from Elbit Systems.
VAHPA has not issued a statement.
Don't know how to organise in your workplace? START HERE!
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions is an international strategy to end financial support of Israel’s ongoing oppression, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and now genocide. This works by boycotting, divesting, and asking for sanctions to be placed on companies who profit off the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.
The Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) is a major industry superannuation fund with $55.1 billion in assets and 890,949 member accounts as of June 2020. HESTA invests in Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. The technologies developed by this company directly contribute to the ongoing subjugation of the Palestinian people. Elbit manufactures drones which the Israeli government uses to surveil Palestinians, producing cluster bombs which are illegal under Australian law.
As a superfund for health and community services, HESTA must acknowledge that Elbit Systems is directly implicated in the harm enacted on our fellow healthcare workers in Palestine by the Israeli state.
HESTA also holds shares in Boeing and Lockheed Martin which are companies implicated in making profits off the genocide in Gaza.
As a collective we would like to encourage you to pressure HESTA to drop their financial endorsement of these companies. Join BDS’s campaign to pressure HESTA superannuation into divesting from weapons manufacturers.
Please sign this petition to pressure HESTA and affiliated healthcare unions to stop funding warfare!
Other superfunds included on BDS campaign:
ACTIVE SUPER
AUSTRALIAN SUPER
AWARE SUPER
BT FUNDS MANAGEMENT
CARESUPER
CATHOLIC SUPER
CBUS
COLONIAL FIRST STATE
COMMONWEALTH SUPERANNUATION CORPORATION
HOSTPLUS
IMPORTANT:
Calling and emailing Penny Wong, Richard Marles, and your MP is a tangible daily action you can take to maximize pressure on the government.
This action will take you a maximum of 20 minutes daily, likely less.
Tips
CONTACT PENNY WONG (FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER)
Phone Number: (02) 6277 7500
Email: foreign.minister@dfat.gov.au
CONTACT RICHARD MARLES (DEFENCE MINISTER AND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER)
Phone Number (Parliament Office): (02) 6277 7800
Secondary Number (Electorate Office): (03) 5221 3033
Email: richard.marles.mp@aph.gov.au
CONTACT ANTHONY ALBANESE (PRIME MINISTER)
Fill out this form to contact Anthony Albanese in his capacity as Prime Minister.
Grayndler Electorate Phone Number: (02) 9564 3588
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (MP)
HOW TO FIND YOUR MP
Note: Sometimes, a locality/suburb or postcode may be in more than one federal electorate. If so, please contact the AEC to confirm which federal electorate you live in.
SCRIPT
This is a guide, and you can tailor it according to what feels right in the context of a phone call or email/letter. There are resources below with some further tips about email/letter writing.
“My name is [XXX],
I am contacting you about the Palestinian genocide. I find Australia's silence about israel’s war crimes and violation of multiple international human rights deeply shameful and upsetting.
As my representative, I want you to call for the australian government to:
If you do not call for the end of israel’s genocide, occupation and apartheid against Palestine, I will make sure not to vote for you at the next election. I will also organise my community to ensure you no longer have our vote, as you do not represent our interests.
Thank you for your time.”
ACTION: Australia must condemn Israeli attacks - Australia Palestine Advocacy Network - APAN
Free Palestine Melbourne: Instagram | Facebook
RMIT Students for Palestine: Instagram | Facebook
Loud Jew Collective**: Instagram l Facebook
Jews Against Fascism**: Instagram l Facebook
Unionists for Palestine**: Instagram l Facebook
Australian Palestine Advocacy Network: Instagram l Website
Free Palestine Geelong: Instagram
POSTER PDF
