Our society doesn’t always stand out for its values, but damn well does for its production values. There may be nothing more powerful in the world than a film with high production values. So I’m deeply appreciative when a well-made movie actually says something that needed saying, when you can watch the closing credits feeling wiser, rather than dirtier, more aware of what’s worst in the world and yet inspired to change it, rather than outraged at the normalization of violence or stupidity.

A good place to go for such rarities is Brave New Films, where the latest release is Gaza: Journalists Under Fire. The director Robert Greenwald has agreed to screen the film online for RootsAction and then hang around to discuss it with you and answer your questions. 

Sign up now to join us online on July 9!

I’ve seen an awful lot of movies, not to mention news reports and social media posts, about Palestine. It’s a topic that can easily lead to weeping and withdrawing. It’s also a simple story (the Israeli government is slaughtering people) that can easily be complicated in unhelpful ways. This new 41-minute film avoids those dangers by being a stand-out work of journalism not simply about Gaza but about journalism about Gaza, and specifically the killing of journalists.

At 178 at the time of publication — and now higher — the count of journalists and media workers killed by the Israeli military was already higher than the count of journalists killed on all sides of the U.S. Civil War, the two world wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and the war on Afghanistan combined — not to mention 93 journalists wounded, 84 journalists arrested and locked up, and 70 media facilities turned to rubble in Gaza — all while people in Western corporate media are deemed brave simply for announcing that they’ve noticed that large numbers of civilians are being murdered.

Sign up now to watch the film and talk with the director on July 9!

The record number of killings is not because Gaza is being flooded with the world’s journalists. On the contrary, they’ve been shut out by Israel, along with human rights organizations. It’s not because the local people are disproportionately journalists. Perhaps they are if you consider their use of social media, but these statistics refer to professional journalists. It’s not because Israel has killed so many people that this many journalists are simply a portion of that larger massacre. No, it’s because the Israeli military has been specifically targeting journalists for assassination, including tracking them with drones, often just following a particularly powerful report produced by one of them. Journalists are dying disproportionately, and this means that they can be a danger rather than a protection to those they are near. Their PRESS jackets and vests are treated as targets. Their families have been killed with them when they have been targeted.

The significance of this unprecedented slaughter of journalists is that it helps to hide the war and facilitate lies about the war. This film helps us learn the truth.

We hope you can join us on July 9 -- register here!

Also join us on July 10 at 8pm ET, 5pm PT for a Livestream on Understanding Sanctions.

Sanctions are a weapon of war masquerading as a humane alternative to bombs and guns. With the world’s attention on Iran, now is the time to learn how Iranians and others have long suffered under U.S.-led sanctions, which have limited access to food, life-saving medicines, and a range of other necessities.

Sanctions are held up as effective tools to influence a country’s leaders. But we will discuss how, time and time again, they’ve empowered elites and increased inequality in targeted countries. Sanctions have widespread destructive effects that disproportionately affect poor and working-class people.

We’re bringing together an incredible panel of experts to explain how sanctions work, how they have been misused around the world, and how to effectively speak out against them. Speakers will include:

• Leonardo Flores, Co-founder; the Venezuela Solidarity Network
• Danny Valdes, Co-chair; DSAs Cuba Solidarity Working Group

The event will include a call to action so you can take action to push back against U.S. sanctions.

Sign up here now to join on July 10.

States are restricting Super PACs, banning slavery and the death penalty, and imposing taxes on the mega-wealthy. How are people winning state-level victories, and how can your state do the same? Let’s ask those involved. Join the livestream on July 24.

And, to close out this month, you can register for our July 31 livestream on "Trump's Approach to Militarism" where we’ll be hearing from William Hartung, an expert on the U.S. military-industrial complex, as well as professor and podcast host Van Jackson, among others. Join us for a conversation on how the Trump administration is managing and expanding the United States’ military presence around the world.

This work is only possible with your financial support. Please chip in $5 now.

Thank you!

-- The RootsAction team

RootsAction.org