Dear Erin, Jason, Garima, John, Linda, and Tunde,
We, the undersigned employees, contractors, and Chef Corps members at World Central Kitchen, are writing to express outrage and disappointment with WCK’s response to the violence in Palestine. People and institutions are judged by their responses to historic crises such as this—the moment demands that WCK pave the way for other organizations to act decisively, with moral clarity. We feel compelled to raise our voices and request the following:
A call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire, and a strong condemnation of Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza. This includes sharing on WCK social platforms and a revision of the activation page including an extended, detailed description of the conditions in Gaza preceding October 7 and the increased collective punishment imposed on its population after.
Language consistent with the precedent set by our Ukraine activation referring to the attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinians in Gaza in each relevant social media and blog post.
An immediate cessation of WCK’s response in Israel.
1: CALL FOR CEASEFIRE
In these unprecedented times, WCK must follow in the steps of other humanitarian organizations, such as World Food Programme, Oxfam, and Doctors Without Borders, in drawing attention to the severity of the events unfolding in Palestine, and calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire. By using euphemistic terms like “conflict” and “extreme escalation of violence”, WCK is trivializing the persecution of Palestinians. Signaling through language and action that this situation is normal sets a destructive precedent. WCK has gained a huge following over the years, through truthful, thoughtful storytelling; becoming a trusted source to feed people who need it most. WCK must continue to be a leader in the disaster response space, especially at a time when the momentum of public opinion and pressure are enough to make a real difference for the Palestinian people WCK is trying to serve. We request WCK commit to a strong public stance in support of Palestinians in Gaza and condemnation of IDF attacks on civilians.
Before October 7, Gaza was already under blockade, with an average of about 500 aid trucks entering daily. The problem is not the quantity of aid intended for Gaza—as we can see by the hundreds of trucks waiting at the Rafah border—but that aid is not being allowed to enter. Israel’s weaponized use of hunger and thirst against a civilian population is the antithesis of what WCK stands for. Intentionally using the influence of WCK’s platform to condemn the blockade, and contribute to international pressure to ease it, would have a meaningful impact. As a highly-respected NGO, WCK must use its voice and influence to demonstrate a confident, moral response to the siege on Gaza. A condemnation of the blockade supports the hardworking WCK team in Egypt, as well as Anera and MECA employees working inside Gaza under siege conditions.
2: CONSISTENT LANGUAGE
José’s October 13th video on WCK’s social platforms was decidedly not neutral, starting the clock on October 7th, specifically denouncing the actions of Hamas, describing innocent civilians in Gaza simply as “dying” instead of being killed, and perhaps worst of all, obfuscating the situation as “complex”. Given that more Palestinian children had been killed in just the first 3 weeks of the siege on Gaza than in all other armed conflicts globally in any year since 2019, the facts on the ground are no more complex than the invasion of Ukraine. WCK coverage of Ukraine mentions specific attacks in painful detail, along with the impact they have on team members. We request that the same coverage be applied to the much more extreme situation in Gaza.
More worryingly, WCK social posts give exponentially more humanizing detail to the Israeli recipients of food than to Palestinian recipients. Israeli recipients are named, with rich, sympathetic illustrations of their situations. Palestinian recipients, when mentioned at all, are mentioned in abstract, or in the milder situations they have experienced. There are many strategies to protect our recipients while sharing the reality of the situation. In The Guardian, an Oxfam executive recently described Gaza as the worst humanitarian crisis he’d seen. WCK’s coverage thus far is completely detached from the relative scale of suffering in Gaza and Israel. We know that Anera staff are unable to work because they are digging through rubble to try and find their family members, and WCK’s partners in Gaza have lost dozens of family members at least. WCK’s communications must honestly reflect the unfathomable conditions in Gaza.
3: CESSATION OF ISRAEL RESPONSE
WCK teams are currently serving meals in Israel, the world’s 25th wealthiest country by median, at a stage when any food distribution challenges that arose from the October 7 attack are no longer acute. By continuing to serve meals in Israel in tandem with our work in Gaza, WCK is playing into false, dangerous perceptions of equivalency between the situations in Gaza and Israel. WCK’s presence in Israel is normalizing what a growing number of experts describe as an unfolding genocide in Gaza. If WCK chose not to serve meals in Azerbaijan during our Armenia response, or in Russia during our Ukraine response, it is an extreme double standard to continue meal service in Israel at this time.
Organizational resources can go further elsewhere, Congo and Sudan being only two examples. Currently, the implicit statement of WCK is that it is more important to provide comfort to some than the bare essentials to others. WCK, through behavioral condonement, is contributing to likely escalation on other fronts should bombardment and ground incursions into Gaza continue. We request an immediate cessation of meal service in Israel.
WCK has a prominent platform and with it comes responsibility that cannot be understated. To avoid such a misuse of our resources and platform going forward, the decision to activate, and how long to remain there, must be based in a clear, consistent definition of “food need” formed in an ongoing discussion with the WCK team .
In normalizing the ongoing genocide, and the long untenable situation in Palestine, WCK is signalling that the lives and freedoms of some matter more than others. The imbalance of the situation is so thoroughly undeniable, so morally clear, that by keeping course as is, WCK is not acting like an organization we can believe in. We build longer tables, not higher walls. There’s still time.
WCK owes this change to its dedicated Palestinian staff, to its committed Palestinian Chef Corps members, and to its longstanding partner, Anera.
Signed (43),
Ramsey Telhami - Assistant Video Editor
Tessa Trach - Project Manager, Communications
Alex Ervin - Communications Coordinator
Xochitl Santamaria - Associate, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Brian Chan - IT Systems and Network Engineer
Christopher Ochoa - IT Systems and Network Administrator
Adina Anton - Data Sr. Manager
Ame Stormer - Community Outreach Manager, Eastern North America
Sandie Orsa - Senior Manager, Field Finance
Kyle Coppinger - Procurement and Logistics Manager, Eastern North America
Ali Sharman - GIS Specialist
Leslie Spangler - Banking Specialist, Finance
Alicia Sully - Video & Photo Production
Sebastian Lindström - Photo & Video Production
Ghinwa Daher - Videographer, Editor
Chris Kousouros - Community Outreach & Video / Photo Production
Riham Ezzaldeen - Video Production and Distro Contractor
Marcelle Afram - Chef Corps
Omar Anani - Chef Corps
Reem Assil
Anonymous - Communications
Anonymous - Relief Team
Anonymous - Development
Anonymous - Relief Team
Anonymous - Finance
Anonymous - Development
Anonymous - Contractor
Anonymous - Strategy
Anonymous - Relief
Anonymous - Strategy
Anonymous - Relief
Anonymous - Relief
Anonymous - Communications
Anonymous - Communications
Anonymous - Strategy
Anonymous - Relief
Anonymous - Relief
Anonymous - Development
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
ADD YOUR SIGNATURE BELOW