Today, Take One Action is joining others in the National Culture Walkout across Scotland, a sector-wide walkout in response to Palestinian trade unions’ call for a global day of workplace action.

Arts workers have been encouraged to participate in a nationwide action to make our solidarity with Palestine visible. In Scotland, this action is backed by the Scottish Trade Union Council and Scottish Artists Union.

Palestinian trade unions are calling for us to use our collective power as workers to end the global enabling of genocide in Gaza. In the culture sector, we have a specific task, because culture has long been used to whitewash Israel’s actions, and cultural institutions have often become sites for repression of any dissenting views.

Demands that are central to today’s walkout include a total arms embargo on Israel, a cultural boycott of Israel and an end to artwashing by corporations profiting from destruction in Palestine, Lebanon and beyond.

If you are a cultural worker (or indeed a worker of any kind!) we invite you to consider joining us today by taking action in your own workplace, and there are many suggestions of things you could do to reflect, organise and stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Read on for eight highlighted actions that Palestinian organisers have themselves suggested as priorities:

1. Join Art Workers for Palestine Scotland this evening in Glasgow or Dundee – in Glasgow people are gathering at 4.30pm at Queens Park Arena for a silent vigil followed by readings and in Dundee people are coming together at 5pm at Generator Projects for a gathering and read-in.
2. Get together with some of your colleagues to plan a future workplace or community action, including potentially writing to your employers about their position on Palestine or asking them about organisational funding if they receive support from companies such as Baillie Gifford, which has been reported as holding investments in illegal Israeli settlements and arms.
3. Write to partner organisations about Palestine inviting them to sign up to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which is designed to prevent the artwashing of genocide. Scotland is one of the countries globally with the strongest grassroots arts support for Palestine – let’s build on this!
4. Learn about the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement and which specific brands they are calling on to be boycotted – they have just added Coca Cola as a boycott target. You can make sure your workplace isn’t using products from the list.
5. Donate to Palestinian and Lebanese relief funds and mutual aid, and share them with others.
6. Learn about Palestinian history and the events that have led up to the current day, and share resources with colleagues. There are many suggested historic and non-fiction books to read on Pluto Press’s Free Palestine reading list.
7. Share Palestinian literature, film and art, which are all vital for countering intentional dehumanisation of the Palestinian people, and for learning about Palestinian lives, culture, history, challenges and joys. Some lists you can explore include this one from Portobello Bookshop and the Palestinian Film Foundation database. We also recommend Foragers, a film we’ve shown in the past, and if you’d like to set up a workplace or community screening, please get in touch!
8. Change your email signature so that it points to Palestinian resources, including some of those mentioned above. You can find more links on our Linktree here.

You can tag organisers @artworkersforpalestinescotland in any of these actions if you’d like them to share it, or get in touch with them directly if you’d like to become more involved.

The journey towards justice is both urgent and sustained. Today’s Cultural Workers’ Walkout is a powerful reminder that collective action has the potential to create meaningful change. By standing in solidarity, we amplify the voices of those experiencing unimaginable hardship in Palestine, where winter’s harsh realities compound an already devastating humanitarian crisis. As such, we invite you to take action towards a future of dignity, freedom, and liberation for Palestine, and for us all.