The World Central Kitchen was among the first groups on the ground after Hamas and its Palestinian supporters invaded Israel and slaughtered 1,200 Israeli and foreign civilians on October 7, 2023.
WCK remained in Israel throughout 19 months of war, feeding tens of thousands of Israelis whose homes had been torched or who were displaced by rocket, drone, and ballistic missile attacks by Iranian proxies from the north, south and east.
Last year, after Israel’s military made a grave targeting mistake and struck a WCK aid caravan, Israelis and Jews from around the world donated to the aid organization in a collective show of grief and solidarity. It was a tragic day, one that deeply shook Israel and the diaspora.
Recently, in part to raise money for this organization, a small group of Connecticut residents kayaked to the park at Lighthouse Point in New Haven, ate watermelon together, and posed for pictures while holding a hand-lettered sign: “FEED GAZA.” They called reporters in advance, hoping someone would obtain footage of them paddling in “solidarity” with the Gaza flotillas -–small ships carrying negligible amounts of aid whose organizers self-righteously proclaim their intention to sail to Gaza from the safety of a friendly port. Predictably and as they hoped, the Israeli navy stopped them long before they’re taken hostage by the jihadi groups operating in the territory and, as in the case of Greta Thunberg, even feeds them.
The July 28 op-ed that followed the kayaking trip – “Palestinians are human”– with all respect to the excellent CT Mirror, is not helpful. While I, like most, totally agree with the title that Palestinians are human (although Hamas seems not to agree when using Palestinian civilians as their human shields), the author, in essence, was issuing a press release with admissions that the purpose of the kayaking was to gain media attention for this “unique action.”
Recently appearing in various publications have been heart-wrenching photos of children possibly suffering from malnutrition. Even the status of those children often poses a question, as Hamas is circulating pictures of children with terrible genetic conditions and calling those children victims of war.
As real as the humanitarian crisis is, there has been considerable disagreement and demagoguery about the causes, affecting the statements and actions of governments and skewing their actions and words, often against Israel, as has become fashionable of late. The difficulty of determining the true state of affairs, even in Israel, is the subject of an insightful essay by distinguished Canadian-American-Israeli journalist Matti Friedman.
Enough finger pointing for now about the New Haven “flotilla.” The fact there is a real humanitarian crisis happening-– the reason that the U.S. has funded tens of millions in aid for Gaza and spent thousands of diplomatic hours trying to resolve the war. Negotiations that Hamas has walked away from on multiple occasions, including last week, is why Israel has again added humanitarian aid distribution pauses into each day, created safe corridors and participated in air drop operations. It’s also why the Israeli military is irate that there are more than 900 containers of aid sitting in Gaza waiting for distribution. Instead of working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the U.N. — never a helpful force in the Middle East when needed — has picked up its toys and left, only returning when Israel released photos of the containers sitting uselessly in the yard.
War is bad. That’s why we try so hard to avoid it. But when barbarians like Hamas come crashing into your country to rape, torture, and kill, a government must respond to protect its people. Israel ended the last ceasefire because Hamas was making zero progress toward releasing the hostages. Hamas will lose this war. The only question is how many Palestinians and Israeli soldiers will it take with it. Sadly, Hamas has no decency or shame.
We can all agree that Palestinians deserve to live in thriving communities with economic stability, with 21st century educational systems, and within the reach of diverse, global markets. They must stand up to terrorism and refuse to surrender their children to ‘martyrdom’ and violence. Recognizing a Palestinian state is irrelevant; Palestinians themselves rejected two-state solutions multiple times because it would mean recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. They want a “Palestine,” but they still long to eradicate Jews from Israel.
Instead of a pretend flotilla, maybe consider contributing to any of the Israeli villages trying to rebuild after the horrific attacks perpetrated by Gazans. Those agricultural communities, prior to being raided by terrorists, contributed mightily to the Gazan economy and tried to serve as peace bridges between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel cannot end Islamic extremist terrorism on its own. Kayaking on Long Island Sound isn’t the solution. Call on Hamas to surrender, call on Palestinians to forge peace, and get the hostages home.
Mark Fishman of Fairfield is President of PRIMER-Connecticut (Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting)