At the time I resigned in early March, I was the only staff member of Palestinian descent at World Central Kitchen (WCK).1 I resigned in protest of extensive, unexplained censorship regarding Gaza at the organization. WCK leadership is taking a stand six months too late, only after 7 of its personnel were killed.
World Central Kitchen is a food relief NGO, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés in response to 2010’s disastrous earthquake in Haiti. While the vast majority of the organization’s work is in response to natural disasters, WCK had made exceptions, including feeding the National Guard and law enforcement during the January 6 insurrection, and in 2022 activated wholesale in Ukraine.
On December 7 of last year, I sent this letter to World Central Kitchen’s executive team, along with a request to discuss its points in an open conversation mediated by an ombudsman, a resource hired by the organization in the wake of last year’s sexual harassment scandal. The letter called for WCK to join other regionally active NGOs in calling for a ceasefire and condemning Israel’s blockade, conform its language in coverage of Gaza to the standard set by its coverage of Ukraine, and an immediate cessation in meal service in Israel. It garnered 43 signatures from WCK staff, contractors, and Chef Corps volunteers at a time when the organization’s largest Slack channel had 101 employees. The entire WCK executive team declined the meeting, and failed to respond when the ombudsman reached out to them. WCK continued to actively serve meals in Israel until the second day of the ICJ genocide hearing in January.
The unique character of WCK’s relief response to October 7 first revealed itself on October 11, 2023, when the organization’s Communications team received the following statement from newly hired Chief Communications Officer Linda Roth, signed by CEO Erin Gore, with instructions to post it without the Communication team’s input, breaking precedent. The statement opened:
“Dear Supporters and Friends of World Central Kitchen,
I am writing to address a matter of great importance regarding our organization’s mission and the horrific terrorist act orchestrated by the militant group Hamas against Israel.”
Four days into Israel’s offensive, after Israeli officials had explicitly stated their intentions to cut off water and aid, and treat all Gazans as guilty, WCK’s statement made no mention of the enclave’s blockade or the climbing civilian death toll. In a heated Communications meeting called to address this, Roth defended the statement from the protest of almost the entire team, claiming taking down the post was a “fireable offense,” justifying the statement with “No one supports terrorism, right?,” and citing now debunked claims widely circulated in the days following October 7. When it was clear the team wouldn’t stand down, the statement was altered to remove the sentence shared above.