Going against the silence of the international culinary world

To:

Mr. Tim Brooke-Webb,Managing Director of 50 Best at William Reed

Mr. William Drew, Director of Content

Ms. Rikki Tidball, Operations Director The World's 50 Best Restaurants organization, William Reed Ltd

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”Albert Einstein

On October 7th, 2023, a murderous planned terror attack was perpetrated in Israel. Over 1,400 babies, children, women, men, and elderly people were brutally murdered by more than 1,000 Hamas terrorists, an internationally recognized terrorist organization. More than 200 civilians, including infants and elderly people, were kidnapped into Gaza. Now more than ever, it is important for all nations and cultures to be united and condemn acts of terror, racist antisemitic murders, and crimes against humanity.

As a response to that atrocious attack and ongoing Hamas missile attacks on Israel’s civilian population, the Israeli Defense Forces are operating to destroy Hamas headquarters and facilities to stop the unbridled attacks and protect civilians.

We, the Israeli Association for Culinary Culture – chefs, culinary academic researchers, artisanal manufacturers, gastronomic journalists, and more – strongly believe that food is a bridge between cultures and should be a common channel that brings people and nations together. We, Arabs and Jews alike, believe that the 50BEST brand shares the same values and beliefs. Your work is an important element in bridging the division in the Middle East.

We plead for your condemnation of the horrors that were perpetrated on October 7th and of any expression of support for terrorism and for Hamas's brutal crimes.

In the last few days, some of the chefs and restaurants from the MENA 50BEST list loudly expressed their support of the terror attacks and Hamas’s goals: a genocide of Jews and the extinction of Israel. The words and the images they post and share (See some of them attached to this letter) reach thousands of people. The meaning of such actions is the dissemination of hatred and incitement of violence. Those chefs and restaurants still appear on your lists, website, and social channels.

We of course understand and share the grief for the loss of innocent Palestinian lives in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. Helping and supporting those people and building together a safe and peaceful future for the whole region, however, cannot be done by glorifying Hamas's murderous terrorism and posting donation calls that promote the idea of an entire annihilation of Israel.

This is our 9/11 moment, as rightly recognized by news outlets, politicians and artists around the world in the wake of these devastating events. Terror is supported by those who choose to not speak up and refrain from condemning the spread of fundamentalist Hamas propaganda. The Israeli restaurants included in the 50BEST list are now mostly closed. We are in deep grief. We are mourning the lives of our loved ones and are terrified for the lives of those kidnapped. But we are united, cooking for the affected families, most of whom are currently displaced after losing their homes. It is unacceptable that at the same time other restaurants and chefs from this same list who were selected by your distinguished team as role models, express their satisfaction from murdering, kidnapping, and violating Israeli civilians.

We are looking forward to hearing and seeing your public position on this matter.

Respectfully,

The Israeli Association for Culinary Culture members of the board.

**In the signature form, first field = full name, in second field = e-mail