In the worst imaginable situations, such as after a hurricane, earthquake, bomb, or gunshot, the best of humanity is brought out. Not once or twice, but all the time.
The seven people killed in the World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were some of humanity’s finest. They are not faceless and nameless. They are not ordinary aid workers or collateral damage in war.
Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Zomi Francom, James Henderson, James Kirby and Damien Sobol risk everything for the most basic human activity: sharing food with others. I exposed it.
These are the people I served with in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza, and Israel. They were more than heroes.
Their work was based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not about good or bad, rich or poor, left or right. It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to. We will only ask you how many meals you need.
From day one, we have been feeding Israelis as well as Palestinians. Across Israel, he has served more than 1.75 million hot meals. We have been feeding families displaced by Hezbollah rockets in the north. We have fed grieving families across the South. We delivered meals to the hospital where the hostages were reunited with their families. We have consistently, repeatedly, and passionately called for the release of all hostages.
All the while, we have been in extensive contact with Israeli military and civilian officials. At the same time, we have been working closely with community leaders in Gaza and Arab states in the region. Otherwise, ships full of food cannot be brought to Gaza.
In this way, we served more than 43 million meals in Gaza, preparing hot meals in 68 community kitchens where Palestinians feed Palestinians.
We know the Israelites. Israelis know deep down that food is not a weapon of war.
Israel is better than this way of war. That would be better than blocking the delivery of food and medicine to civilians. That’s better than killing aid workers working with the Israel Defense Forces.
Today, the Israeli government needs to open up more land routes for food and medicine. Starting today, we must stop killing civilians and aid workers. The long journey towards peace must begin today.
After the worst terrorist attack in history, the time has come for Israel’s best talent to show up in the worst of circumstances. Bombing every building in Gaza will not save the hostages. We cannot win this war by starving the entire nation.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to investigate how and why the World Central Kitchen families were murdered. That investigation should start at the top, not just the bottom.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of Israel’s killing of our team: “This is what happens in war.” It was a direct attack on a clearly marked vehicle whose movements were known by the Israel Defense Forces.
It was also a direct result of policies that had reduced humanitarian aid to desperate levels. Our team was on the way to transport approximately 400 tons of aid supplies by sea. This second shipment was funded by the United Arab Emirates, supported by Cyprus, and authorized by the Israel Defense Forces.
This food aid is so scarce and desperately needed that our team members are literally risking their lives. According to the Global Initiative for Integrated Food Security Classification, half of Gaza’s population is 1.1. Millions face immediate danger of starvation. If there was enough food to feed the people of Gaza, the team would not have been traveling overland by truck.
Regardless of ethnicity or religion, the peoples of the Mediterranean and the Middle East share a culture that values food as a powerful expression of humanity and hospitality, a shared hope for a better tomorrow.
There’s a reason Christians make Easter eggs, Muslims eat eggs at iftar dinners, and eggs are placed on seder plates at this special time of the year. Reborn in spring, this symbol of life and hope transcends religions and cultures.
I was a stranger at the Seder dinner. I had heard the ancient Passover story about being a stranger in the land of Egypt. It is a commandment to remember before the feast that the children of Israel were once slaves.
Feeding a stranger is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. The people of Israel need to remember what real strength looks like in this darkest of times.
