By Daniel Sokatch
SAN FRANCISCO — On Monday, Israeli airstrikes killed seven aid workers in Gaza from the internationally renowned aid organization World Central Kitchen. This is an organization whose sole purpose is to feed the hungry, no matter where they are. Since the attacks of October 7, World Central Kitchen has provided relief to both Israelis and Palestinians. At the New Israel Fund, we are mourning with them, and standing in solidarity.
Feeding people who are starving, as Gazans are every day, is a profound act of goodness. You and I know this. We know that Israel should not be stopping, or even slowing, aid at Gaza’s doors. And right now, Israeli policies are contributing to rampant hunger—and the imminent risk of famine. And we know that people working to get food to the hungry should be protected, not endangered. All of it breaks my heart.
What is desperately needed now is an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a credible, political path forward towards resolution of this conflict. As José Andrés, chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, put it in The New York Times: “Israel is better than the way this war is being waged.”
Our goal must be to end this waking nightmare for innocent Gazans and instill the hope that, one day, Israelis and Palestinians will live side by side in security and in peace. Amen.
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Daniel Sokatch is the CEO of the New Israel Fund
The New Israel Fund (NIF) is a radical leftist Jewish American group that supports non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Israel that work to undermine Israel’s national identity as a Jewish state in multiple ways.