José Andrés demands answers at memorial for World Central Kitchen staff

From the pulpit of the Washington National Cathedral, José Andrés — the founder of the international relief organization World Central Kitchen — choked back tears. The celebrity chef stood nearly 6,000 miles from Gaza, where an Israeli airstrike killed seven of his staff members earlier this month. One by one, Andrés brought the memory of each aid worker to life — demanding answers and action in the wake of their deaths. “Food can never be a weapon of war. Humanitarians can never be targets,” said Andrés, speaking before hundreds at an interfaith memorial for the aid workers on Thursday. “They are the best of us, answering the call to serve on behalf of all humanity.” The two-hour memorial occurred 25 days after the staffers — Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Lalzawmi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby, and Damian Sobol — were killed in Gaza. It was the result of an airstrike in a deconflicted zone, or an area that is off-limits to strikes and where aid agencies can coordinate their movements and share locations with military parties. The Israel Defense Forces later stated the incident was a “grave mistake.” “Food is a universal human right. Feeding each other, cooking and eating together, is what makes us human.” --— José Andrés, founder, World Central Kitchen Their deaths pushed the number of aid workers killed in Gaza past 200, cementing the territory’s rank as the deadliest place for humanitarians in at least two decades. Ever since, Andrés has urged his staffers’ home countries — Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland and the United Kingdom — to conduct a third-party investigation into the attacks, and determine whether the Israel Defense Forces violated international humanitarian law. “I know we all have many unanswered questions about what happened and why,” Andrés said Thursday. “The official explanation is not good enough. We still demand an independent investigation into the actions of the IDF against our team.” “We expect our leaders to live by the same standards set by these seven heroes,” he later added. “Because the fate of the many cannot be decided by the hateful and divisive actions of the few.” Television screens across the cathedral showed their faces: Frankcom, an Australian national, grinning while on the back of a motorbike. Sobol, originally from Poland, waving while showing off a food distribution center. Andrés spoke about each staff member in turn, struggling to speak when he got to Frankcom in particular. He described her as the “living, breathing, smiling heart” of World Central Kitchen, and like a sister to Andrés himself. Row after row of World Central Kitchen staff members sat toward the front of the church, clasping hands and touching shoulders while Andrés spoke at the helm. “To the people of World Central Kitchen,” Andrés said, addressing his staff through tears. “We are all in mourning. All of us alone, all of us together. We need each other, now more than ever.” At one point, Andrés called on his staff to stand up, and to be recognized for their work across the world. The cathedral broke into applause — and Andrés, voice quivering, pushed his speech forward. “We take risks because we want to change the world with something we all believe, deep down,” he said. “Food is a universal human right. Feeding each other, cooking and eating together, is what makes us human.” Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff listened from the front row, where he was seated alongside Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valls Noyes, and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland. Diplomats from more than 30 countries were also in attendance, event organizers said, with some 560 people joining the memorial in total. Before and after Andrés, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith leaders took to the pulpit. The cathedral choir — and the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma — performed quiet, poignant melodies, with one of the choir’s final refrains speaking directly of those the organization had lost. “In a world of present danger, we are called to bring relief,” they sang. “Giving thanks for one another, helping others live in peace. While we know not all the suffering that exists across the globe, we will face the world with courage, bringing hope and strength and love.” Since the Israel-Hamas war began, humanitarian workers have died at a rapid, unprecedented pace. As of April 25, 234 aid workers had been killed in the Palestinian Territories, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, 228 of whom were Palestinian nationals. Andrés and several faith leaders also spoke about the civilian lives lost in the Israel-Hamas war, including the 1,200 Israelis and the more than 34,000 Palestinians who have died since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. But it was the World Central Kitchen attack that seemed to change the tone, with U.S. President Joe Biden expressing outrage and heartbreak the day after the deaths. “Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” Biden said in a statement earlier this month, his words marking a sharp break from his long-standing support of the U.S. ally. “Every single civilian life is sacred, and must never be treated as collateral damage,” Andrés said Thursday. “It’s time to end the indifference.”