World Central Kitchen -- A Version of White Helmets
On April 2, an assault by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) wantonly killed six food aid workers in Gaza working for an organization called World Central Kitchen (WCK) and their Palestinian driver. Among those killed were three British nationals who were identified as being part of the British military special services, and one person with dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship, a former member of the U.S. military who served in Afghanistan.
Founder of World Central Kitchen, celebrity chef José Andrés, told Reuters that the Israeli assault, had "systematically, car by car" targeted them. Condemnation and profound sorrow were expressed by people like U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian government officials and others who declare that Israel has the "right to self-defence." It is noteworthy that these same people have never decried the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians, including more than 9,500 women, over 14,500 children, 140 journalists and media workers, at least 484 medical personal and the more than 200 aid workers working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and other aid agencies trying to save the Palestinian people from starvation imposed on them by Israel.
Unnamed "defence sources" privy to the details of the attack told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz the killing "stemmed from poor discipline among field commanders, not a lack of coordination between the army and aid organizations." An Israeli intelligence source told the newspaper that the army's southern command "know exactly what the cause of the attack was – in Gaza, everyone does as he pleases." Official regrets were expressed by the Israeli government who admitted it was a result of "friendly fire."
What is very fishy about the humanitarian credentials of World Central Kitchen is that José Andrés is known to have criticized a minister from Spain, Ione Belarra Urteaga, on October 16, 2023 when she had expressed horror at Israel's bombardment and massacres of Palestinians in Gaza which even one week into Israel's current assault on Gaza had already killed thousands of Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children. Andrés expressed outrage at the minister, justified the genocide by claiming that Israel was defending its citizens, and demanded that she be fired for standing up against Israel's barbarity.
In other words, the motives of this Spanish-American celebrity chef and his World Central Kitchen were clearly not to save the lives of the Palestinian people. This suspicion is further confirmed by the composition of the people killed and the fact that it is acknowledged as a "friendly fire" inadvertent accident.
Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada pointed out that the Israeli military helped WCK build a jetty out of the rubble of people's homes, destroyed by the Israeli military despite the fact that there may still have been bodies in the rubble. He quoted a New York Times article which states: "The Israeli military helped WCK's operation, providing security and coordination, according to an Israeli official who requested anonymity to speak about a sensitive matter. Every step was carried out with the permission of the U.S. military." The NYT article goes on to say: "The arrival of the ship, which had sailed from Cyprus after the aid was inspected there, was a milestone in a venture that Western officials hope will play a part in easing the enclave's food deprivation. The operation is being described as a pilot project for the broader opening of a maritime corridor to supply the territory."
There are also close ties between WCK and the White House. President Biden personally called Andrés to offer his condolences and support for those killed by Israel. Last February, Andrés, as Co-chair of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, participated in a promotional video alongside Doug Emhoff, the husband of vice-president Kamala Harris. The Electronic Intifada journalist also points out that the WCK charity has gone from nothing three years ago to raising half a billion dollars in 2022. All this comes as the efforts to dismantle and destroy UNRWA escalate.
It is clear from the facts that WCK is being used in a fraudulent effort on the part of Israel, the U.S., Canada, the UK and others to claim that Israel is humanitarian and is feeding civilians, or to claim that they themselves are doing the same. It is also used to divert attention from attempts to destroy UNRWA. Such attempts are themselves part of global neo-liberal efforts to destroy the UN Convention on Refugees, not only to pass off the slaughter of Palestinians as the new normal, but also to permit countries like Britain and Canada to violate their obligations under the convention in their treatment of refugees, called "illegal migrants," and, ultimately, to justify the egregious violations of international refugee law on the southern U.S. border.
It is highly likely that World Central Kitchen is another version of the White Helmets, an outfit which calls itself a civil defence organization made up of volunteers who "help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from attacks." The White Helmets was founded by a former British army intelligence officer and private military contractor with ties to the UK government. Since 2014 it has operated in "rebel-held" areas of Syria in violation of Syrian sovereignty. It is suspected of being behind many atrocities subsequently blamed on the Syrian government by its enemies. White Helmets receives funding from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and other like-minded governments.
This "friendly fire" incident constitutes yet more evidence that not only is the IDF in disarray but that the tears of the likes of the Biden administration and government of Canada are part of a concerted propaganda fraud to pass off Israel as humanitarian while they have a plan to demolish UN humanitarian agencies such as UNRWA and dismantle UN Conventions which protect refugees and victims of aggression and war.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 26 - April 15, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54263.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca