Washington, DC – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) today released the following statement.
“My staff, my constituents and I are all devastated and shocked by the killing in Gaza of seven humanitarian food aid workers with World Central Kitchen, which was founded by Maryland Eighth District resident and Local Hero Chef José Andrés.
“Our love and sympathy go to the victims’ families and friends.
“We recently recognized Chef José Andrés as a Local Hero for his remarkable commitment and drive to bring food aid to people suffering from war, oppression and disaster all over the world, including Gaza.
“These seven fallen World Central Kitchen workers, acting to feed the hungry and increasingly starving population of Gaza, will be forever remembered for their compassion and bravery in the face of inhumanity, war and moral indifference.
“I want to endorse the urgent and plain sentiments of Chef José Andrés who said in response to this nightmare: ‘The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.’
“The Israeli Defense Forces has said it will investigate how this catastrophe happened. The world, including the United States of America, waits for a complete accounting and explanation.
“As I first wrote on October 14, 2023, ‘a just war undertaken in self-defense must be prosecuted justly.’ There is no justice in what President Joe Biden has called ‘indiscriminate bombing.’
“I am calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to quickly deliver to the world a complete analysis of why this happened, who is responsible and what precautions are being installed to guarantee it will never happen again. Millions of people, including a lot of Members of Congress, await Netanyahu’s report.”
“The continuing intolerable loss of thousands of innocent civilian lives in Gaza, especially among children and women, and among aid workers, means that the Netanyahu government is forfeiting and squandering every day its moral standing and the support of the world which existed after the October 7 atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.
“I stand with Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen. I stand with millions of innocent civilians searching for safety and food in the wreckage of this war.
“I stand with the tens of thousands of Israelis who are supporters or family members of the more than 100 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. Huge crowds of Israelis are marching this week demanding immediate release of the hostages as part of a comprehensive ceasefire that will stop the killing. We need a political process to end the axis of terror, fanaticism, extremism and war that is strangling the hopes for peace and democratic security for all.”
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