The Charity Sector has an anti-Palestinian racism problem
Written and edited by the Charity So White team. Survey design and analysis by Humma Andleeb (@HummaAndleeb) and Charity So White.
The charity sector continues to fail Palestine and the people of Gaza. In the face of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and its flouting of international law, large swathes of the charity sector remain silent. Instead of standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine and condemning Israel's genocidal action, charity leaders have instead chosen to go after those staff that dare to speak out and exercise their moral rights.
Earlier this year, we conducted a survey of the charity sector, asking how, if at all, charities were responding to the crisis in Palestine, and the findings should concern us all.
The results make clear that charity staff are widely disappointed by their organisation’s inaction on Palestine over the last eight months. They also show that charity staff do not believe the values and mission of their organisations have been upheld when it comes to Palestine. Most troublingly, the results reveal that there are a worrying number of cases where staff have been challenged or disciplined for showing solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinian people. In some cases, this has resulted in staff being dismissed. Our message to the charity sector is clear - you cannot claim to be doing anti-racism work while upholding anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic biases.
“Charities across the world and in the UK have largely been totally inadequate and have shown what Arabs like myself already knew... that our lives don't matter at all. Our humanity doesn't matter. We can be killed in front of your eyes in daylight over and over again and you don't care.”
Charities have stayed quiet on Gaza
49.2% of UK Charities have said nothing about the genocide in Gaza
Our survey shows that almost 50% of charities have not responded to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza: with 21% of those organisations actively choosing to say nothing in order to “stay neutral,” while the remaining 26% have just buried their heads in the sand and said absolutely nothing. As we continue to see heartbreaking and harrowing images of death and destruction coming out of Gaza, so called ‘neutrality’ is no longer a credible option for charity leaders. Staying quiet in the face of genocide means normalising it, and charities are failing their charitable missions by not standing with the people of Palestine. They are ignoring their core principles, including promoting human rights, justice, aid and supporting the most marginalised communities.
“One of our values is to stand up for what is right and we talk consistently about standing alongside young people about things they think are important. Young people have told us the situation in Gaza is important to them, yet we have not spoken out about it.”
Survey data shows that of the 50.7% of charities that had responded to the situation in Gaza in some way, there are still signs of hesitation from charity leaders when it comes to publicly showing solidarity with the Palestinian people. 20.7% of charities have only issued internal responses to the situation in Gaza, presumably to support staff that may be affected by it. Overall in the charity sector, those organisations that have put out statements about Gaza are in the minority, according to data reported by charity sector staff.
only 30% of UK charities have said something publicly about the genocide in Gaza
“Although the organisation is broadly pro-Palestinian rights there has been a bit of a witch hunt by management to work out who in the staff team has been responsible for organising staff to take action”
Charity staff are overwhelmingly disappointed with inaction over Gaza
81.4% of UK charity staff are disappointed with how their organisation has responded to the genocide in Gaza
This information paints a picture of a disconnect between charity staff and charity leaders on the crisis in Gaza. Our survey shows us that charity staff are leading the charge on internal campaigns to push organisational responses to Israel’s violence in Gaza, while charity leaders avoid talking about it out of fear of criticism. The disconnect between staff and leaders is stark - 81% of staff reported that they are dissatisfied with their organisation’s response (or lack thereof) to Gaza. With a staggering 50% of staff saying they are “extremely disappointed” with their organisation’s handling of the situation in Gaza. 63% of staff have also said they feel their charity’s response to Gaza does not align with the values of their charity - with many respondents saying that organisational values on equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism have been ignored when it comes to the suffering of Palestinians.
63.1% of UK charity staff say that the way their charity has handled the ongoing genocide in Gaza does not meet their charity values
“Primarily POC staff are the ones pushing for more action and response to the genocide but in some ways that builds on perceptions that we are ‘difficult’ and ‘always complaining’”
“It is an overwhelmingly white organisation, the radio silence on this despite it dominating the external environment is shocking. I do not feel safe talking about this at work. My organisation is for people facing dying, death and bereavement - they issued external comms when Matthew Perry died, it is shocking they haven't said anything internally or externally about this.”
Charity leaders are afraid to speak up on Palestine
What is clear from the data and the anecdotes shared by charity staff, is that charity leaders are being driven by fear to ignoring the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. When asked what is stopping their charities from showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, staff gave the following responses:
Fear of losing supporters or negative feedback from supporters (49% of respondents)
Fear of funders taking away their funding (44% of respondents)
Fear of unwelcome criticism or negative attention from government (41% of respondents)
Fear of public criticism from affected communities (35% of respondents)
Fear of receiving unwelcome attention from the charity commission (28% of respondents)
Feeling that the situation in Gaza is “irrelevant” to them (38% of respondents)
So then, if there is so much that our charity leaders fear when it comes to speaking publicly about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza then what has driven those organisations that have taken the risk to issue public or internal statements? Our data shows that across the charity sector staff are mobilising internal campaigns to get institutions to show solidarity with Palestine. It is overwhelmingly pressure from staff and volunteers that has led organisations to take action, with over 67% of respondents citing this.
45% of UK charity staff personally affected by the violence in Gaza were offered no support by their organisation
However, these high levels of internal campaigning on the situation in Gaza does not mean that this has all been smooth sailing. Indeed, our data paints a picture of heightened tensions and divisions in UK charities over the topic of Palestine. 40% of respondents reported witnessing or experiencing negative responses when showing solidarity with Palestinians at work, whereas only 8% of respondents had witnessed or experienced negativity when showing solidarity with Israelis.
“Claims of anti-semitism against staff [have] been made even when Jewish staff themselves have said they do not experience this. Women, and especially women of colour, have been heavily policed around their tone and emotion when speaking.”
“I am comfortable partly because I'm Jewish and white, both of which I think protect me to some extent from repercussions. The CEO has tried to stop Palestine solidarity events taking place, but I'm just not scared. I have a permanent contract. I know my rights. It's too important not to talk about it, especially with my privileges.”
Black and Brown charity staff don’t feel safe to talk about Palestine at work
When asked about how comfortable or safe respondents feel about talking about Palestine at work, there was an even split with 38% of staff saying they feel comfortable or safe while 38% said they felt uncomfortable or unsafe. Digging into the written comments, it is clear that feelings of safety and comfort on this seem to be clearly split along racial lines - with staff that self-identified as white largely commenting that they felt safe talking about Palestine, whereas staff from racialised backgrounds are far more likely to talk about the lack of safety and the push back they receive from others when talking about Palestine at work.
“I have been reported at work for my involvement with action supporting Palestine (completely in my own private time and with no connection to my work) I have been suspended with five allegations made against me.”
“Senior colleague aimed criticism of Hamas solely at [a] Syrian colleague for no reason other than what I perceive is racism.”
“I was pulled into an office to discuss my views and comments which I made in a work WhatsApp group.”
When it comes to charities fulfilling their duty of care to staff, we have consistently heard from Black and Brown people about how managers and charity leaders failed to offer adequate support for staff affected by situations affecting minorities communities. Whether it was instances of violence against Black people, violence against Muslims, or violence against LGBTQ+ people, time and time again managers have seemingly failed to provide adequate care to their minoritised staff. The reality is no different when it comes to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 45% of respondents that were affected by the situation in Gaza reported that no support was offered by managers and charities, with 21.4% saying they had received support but were left disappointed in what was on offer.
Charity Workers for a Free Palestine protest outside the Charity Commission over their silence on Gaza. “Silence is complicity, and we refuse to be silent” @Workers4Pal
So what do charity staff want from leaders?
So, where does this leave the charity sector today when it comes to showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza? For the last eight months we have been witnessing tens of thousands of Palestinians being killed by Israel in Gaza. Civilians fleeing their homes only to be killed in a supposed safe zone later. For eight months we have western leaders and mainstream media fail to uphold Israeli forces to account for the indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian people, and showcasing a clear and distinct anti-Palestinian bias. And for those eight months the UK’s charity sector has largely failed to show solidarity with Palestinians, with leaders ignoring the situation in Gaza out of fear of an imagined negative reaction from funders, government, and the public.
But despite the bleak picture that our data paints, it also gives us hope. It is clear that there are many people working in UK charities that are relentlessly pushing their organisations and their leaders to stand on the right side of history by speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. Our survey makes clear that staff want charity leaders to:
Openly and publicly call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Educate themselves on the history of Palestinian oppression.
Adhere to principles of decolonisation and anti-racism, by standing in solidarity with Palestinians against anti-Palestinian racism.
Critically appraise who is funding their work, what their political leanings are, and the role funders are playing in stopping the organisation from “being too political.”
Speak out when white supremacy and Islamophobia are playing out in political and media circles.
Understand the ways in which settler colonialism affects and intersects with their areas of work.
If this feels like too much to ask, the charity sector must ask itself honestly - does it see Palestinians as human beings and is it concerned about their suffering? The people who responded to our survey are the future of the sector, and it is time for the fearful and conservative leaders of our charities to stand alongside them and with the people of Palestine.
