INFO ONLY on Jose Andres + WCK aidwashing/liabilities

WCK money goes to their defense fund - Cooley LLP (1300/hour) and others re: sexual assault, rape, and security lapses in Gaza. Not a good use of donor dollars, they get plenty from nation states with oil as well. Don't let José colonize aid.

Australian gov report re: 4/1: “likely the presence of armed local security on the WCK aid convoy, not notified or approved in the detailed coordination process, gave the appearance of the presence of Hamas.” Exposes the gross inexperience of Jose, Sam Bloch, Erin Gore, John McLellan in the region.

World Central Kitchen & the current admin did zero besides lip service to hold anyone accountable for 4/1 but Australia did release a special adviser report after visiting Israel to no fanfare in the USA & no response from WCK. It states “likely WCK hired unregistered security not approved” by IDF.

Haven’t seen proof of WCK Palestinian workers connected to Hamas but have seen reports from WCK staff that their own leadership playing both sides is what put teams in danger. Forced workers to do missions at night, an incredibly stupid move, authorized by Jose, Erin Gore, Sam Bloch, John McLellan.

After the murders of WCK workers on 4/1, Biden admin, Blinken, Jose, WCK demanded more aid be let in. Israel did not keep any promises, & none of the above nor WCK used their voices in media OR behind the scenes to hold Israel or their own policies to account. WCK hired defense attorneys in fact.

WCK’s only experienced ex military staff called WCK leadership out on their dangerous inexperience March 6 & they dismissed it, no discussion, 3 weeks before April 1. Israeli military is killing these people but WCK doesn’t have basic security strategies to mitigate danger. None. Just point fingers.

Absolutely no aid workers should ever be targeted, but no one at WCK has the experience to keep them safe - not Jose, not CEO Erin Gore, not Security Chief John McLellan, not Emergency Director Sam Bloch, not Relief VP Fiona Donovan, not Chief Relief Officer Jason Collis - ZERO regional experience.

Jose Andres shut his mouth after the attacks on April 1 & appeased his political friends - Biden, Kamala, Blinken - while Gaza aid has dropped to numbers 50% below what it was in April. Instead he did paid political ads for Kamal. He’s an opportunist not a hero to his staff. Another terrible loss.

WCK as an NGO has pursued an aggressive policy of NDAs - very uncommon for an NGO, ask around - for anyone who's leaving, and many are leaving. It's a scary place to leave due to the culture and they will do what they can to keep their insolent, inexperienced leadership from being exposed.

Imagine being a victim of harassment or worse, or the family of deceased & seeing the aidwashing by WCK media, the fawning, billion dollar donors, millionaire celebrity TV personalities, & sycophantic fans unleashing their wrath upon anyone who dared stand up to a vicious cult of personality.

Staff who put their subordinate's safety first, whether protection from harassment or mortally dangerous situations, were rebuked & fired. Raising a hand to even question the decisions of an immature, unprepared & arrogant leadership could lead to dismissal. "We'll find someone who will do it."

WCK employees, contractors, & volunteers do the most admirable work there is, but they aren't supported by a truthful, empathetic, organization - instead they're confronted by an aggressive culture of abuse & retribution. Calls for security in Haiti were met with indignation & not so veiled threats.

dark side and lack of security of WCK

An article 4 months (link below) details lack of security protocol & culture of abuse. Jose , Chief "Safety and Security" Officer John McLellan, Director of Emergency Response Sam Bloch, CEO Erin Gore were warned by staff and other NGOs about Gaza & begged for more training. They did not receive it.

World Central Kitchen rife with sexual harassment

Wealthy donor Michael Bloomberg placed any coverage of these issues behind a paywall. You can read archived versions of the articles below where staff/contractors contributed to give a real accounting of how things work, or don't, in the organization.

These ill informed takes from politicians and celebrities are what cause WCK & Jose Andres to shirk traditional, legally required security measures to put their staff in danger & lead to injury & death. Their media first approach dishonors their who just want to work & stay alive.

WCK pays millions of dollars to several white shoe 1200 USD/hour law firms - Cooley LLP, Covington & Burling LLP - & reputation management firms to hide their negligence. Nepotism & inexperience at exec & board level mean donor dollars are not spent efficiently & become a WCK defense slush fund.

WCK’s awful leadership - Erin Gore, Javier Garcia (board,) Val Gonzalez (fired for abuse) were defrauded by “partners” constantly & hid this in a trite, defensive blog post that minimized the actual losses. They also refused to listen to security as in Gaza. Ukraine op is very small & reactive now.

WCK Chief of Security John McLellan, sent a response full of lies (staff did not have proper training as promised,) & naive, dangerous acceptance that their locations were “deconflicted” by the IDF. WCK was taking IDF fire leading up to April 1, even the day before. Inexcusable, unforgivable.

On March 6, a WCK employee with more experience in war zones than Jose, the board, or any of leadership pleaded for their safety to CEO Erin Gore & John McLellan, chief of security. He detailed previous, recent attacks & their lack of training. He was egregiously, summarily dismissed (more below)

Jose is quoted here "The greatest failure right now would be failing to try." Perhaps the failure is not listening to other NGOs, not training your staff or listening to their pleas throughout March, & believing IDF/CLA/COGAT blurry definitions of "deconfliction" & getting your staff killed for ego.

They malign protestors & the UN while lying about their own impact.This diminishes the real work of WCK staff & memories of those lost. They parrot misleading numbers - "50% of NGO aid." The reality is COGAT/CLA (Israel/IDF) don't consider UNRWA or WFP "NGO"s. WCK take's clear advantage of this.

WCK's internal joke is "we're a media organization with an aid problem." WCK recently won an award capitalizing on false numbers & the death of our own people. “WCK prompted speedier & more tangible reaction than months of street protests throughout the world or any of the UN resolutions so far.”

www.mercycorps.org/sites/defaul...

Sadly, WCK dismantled their policy team. After Blinken's failed 30 day ultimatum, aid orgs reported the situation was categorically worse in Gaza but WCK can't contribute to these reports because they have no one who could do it, & their numbers aren't auditable/true. Link below:

Shortly after April 1, Jose Andres issued a few strong rebukes to Israel, including "demands" from his friends Joe Biden & Anthony Blinken etc. These ended fast, & aid has dropped 50%+. WCK is not involved in any of the reporting because they don't track their real output/actual numbers.

This is why WCK cannot engage in partnerships with other, large orgs doing work globally. The leadership/board refuses to track numbers of meals received, actual cost of meals, & other generally required accounting principles in any field. The staff has tried but it doesn't fit WCK media narrative.

WCK embellishes numbers, which are not auditable, of the amount of aid actually reaching those in need. In Gaza kitchens are closed, many have 0 supplies. WCK touts false numbers approved by Israeli government hiding the real, dire situation there. This goes for any activation & devalues the work.

WCK as an NGO has pursued an aggressive policy of NDAs - very uncommon for an NGO, ask around - for anyone who's leaving, and many are leaving. It's a scary place to leave due to the culture and they will do what they can to keep their insolent, inexperienced leadership from being exposed.

Imagine being a victim of harassment or worse, or the family of deceased & seeing the aidwashing by WCK media, the fawning, billion dollar donors, millionaire celebrity TV personalities, & sycophantic fans unleashing their wrath upon anyone who dared stand up to a vicious cult of personality.