A statement on the genocide in Gaza

As of December 13, 2023, almost 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and almost 1.9 million displaced by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) as part of Israel's campaign to punish and depopulate Gaza's communities. In addition, Palestinians in the West Bank continue to face violence from IOF forces and from Israeli settlers. Communities in Lebanon and Syria have also faced bombardments from Israel with the backing of the U.S. and European countries.

The admins of @dailycallofduty condemn this genocide in Gaza that is part of a larger process of Israeli terror that began with the Nakba in 1948. We call for an end to the siege, an end to occupation, and end to U.S. & European support for this apartheid regime, and for the liberation of Palestinian people.

As The Game Awards' Future Class noted in their open letter, games such as Call of Duty have a history of demonizing Arab and Muslim people. While with the introduction of the ULF Call of Duty has weakly joined other gaming studios in attempting to show a larger range of Arab/Muslim representation, this history of racist depictions in its games is still palpable. Furthermore, the game has introduced Israeli operators with histories in the IOF as playable characters in Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare III, with no acknowledgment of the IOF's role in displacing and killing Palestinians.

For this reason, it's even more critical that Call of Duty's community—including its developers, actors, and fans—take a stand to address Israel's apartheid regime and its genocidal campaign in Gaza. We echo People Make Games's call for everyone from the gaming industry, to stand together with the Palestinian people—like they had once done with Ukraine and the Black Lives Matter movement.

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