By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Celebrity chef Jose Andres called seven aid workers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza “the best of humanity” on Thursday during a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral attended by hundreds and punctuated by grief and lingering questions about the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel accidentally killed seven people working for Andres’ charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an airstrike earlier this month, prompting global condemnation and a demand from the President Joe Biden to make it easier to get aid to Gaza, otherwise we risk a shift in US support.
Andres told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that the Israeli attack targeted them “systematically, car by car.”
During Thursday’s service, he praised each of the workers — Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Lalzawmi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby and Damian Sobol — during an emotional eulogy, his voice cracking repeatedly.
“The seven souls we mourn today were there so hungry people could eat,” he said, referring to Gaza residents. “They risked everything to feed people they didn’t know.”
“They were the best of humanity. Their examples should inspire us to do better, to be better,” he said.
Andres said WCK continues to demand an investigation into the Israeli Defense Forces’ actions against its workers, and that the official explanation was not good enough.
“There is no excuse for these murders. None,” he said.
The service included readings and prayers from the Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions and a musical tribute by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
According to a WCK representative, more than 500 people attended, including victims’ families, WCK personnel, U.S. officials and diplomats from more than 30 countries.
Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, represented the White House while Biden was traveling in New York.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and Bill Berkrot)
