Under mounting pressure from over 300 Hollywood screenwriters questioning the lack of condemnation towards the Hamas attack on Israel this month, the Writers Guild of America West sent a letter to its members on Tuesday that aimed to clarify its silence while also denouncing the attack as “an abomination.”
According to The New York Times, the letter, signed by the guild’s leadership, stated that the reason for not issuing a statement after the October 7 attack was not because of “factionalism or masking hateful views,” but rather because the union sees itself as American labor leaders who understand their limitations and are humbled by the magnitude of the conflict.
The guild’s letter acknowledged that it had commented publicly on other situations that could be seen as beyond its scope but had refrained from making a statement regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for example.
The letter recognized that it can be challenging for a labor union to determine where it stands on domestic and global affairs and expressed apologies for the pain caused by their silence.
(Both the West and East branches of the W.G.A. are affiliated unions with separate leadership representing over 11,000 writers together.)
On October 15, a group of screenwriters wrote an open letter to the guild questioning their failure to denounce the attack on Israel and noting the union’s public support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the #MeToo reckoning. They also highlighted that other major Hollywood unions had issued statements condemning the attack.
More than 300 writers, including Jerry Seinfeld, Eric Roth, and Amy Sherman-Palladino, have since signed the letter, with some Jewish screenwriters considering leaving the organization due to feeling unsupported.
Initially, in response to the open letter, Ms. Stiehm emailed members saying that the lack of response was due to the board’s varying viewpoints and inability to reach consensus.
The letter on Tuesday, which condemned the Hamas atrocities and expressed horror regarding them, aimed to address the outrage and calm tensions.
Screenwriter Howard Gordon, who signed the open letter, expressed appreciation for the statement and hopes that this will lead to constructive conversations about combatting and addressing antisemitism.
However, for Dan Gordon, the apology came too late, and he officially resigned his membership in the organization, describing their silence as appalling and morally bankrupt.
According to his letter, Mr. Gordon will change his guild membership status to “financial core,” ensuring he still receives contract benefits but losing voting rights and the ability to attend guild meetings. The guild considers this a disloyal act, and the status change is irreversible.
Mr. Gordon criticized the guild for not explicitly calling for the release of hostages and stated that his views remain unchanged.