Gaza Genocideupdated 1h ago2 min read
Benjamin Davis Says FAO Fired Him Over Gaza Hunger Brief, Launches Appeal
Benjamin Davis says FAO did not renew his contract for criticizing Israeli Gaza policies. He launched an appeal against dismissal, citing his stance on Gaza hunger.
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Davis says he was fired
Benjamin Davis said he was fired by the Food and Agriculture Organization after his team published a brief on hunger in Gaza and held a seminar on the subject last year, and he launched an appeal against his dismissal.
Davis told Reuters, "I feel it’s a terrible injustice. I’ve been disciplined without due process for speaking up about a subject at the core of FAO’s mandate about the right to food," as he described the decision as linked to his stance on Gaza hunger.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu appeared to refer to Davis’s dismissal in public remarks last Tuesday, when he threatened to fire more people for what he deemed to be political activism.
Qu said, "We are not going to allow you to play the game here of human rights," and he added, "I’m a very soft person. I didn’t fire that many."
Silent protests and a dispute
Davis said he was accused of organising weekly silent protests at the Rome-based organization, and he described the moments of silence as focused on starvation and famine in Gaza. Davis told AFP, "They accused me of organizing these moments of silence on the situation of starvation and famine in Gaza," and he said he was also criticised for a report he worked on about food availability in Gaza and humanitarian law.
Qu Dongyu defended the dismissal of an unnamed staff member at a FAO conference by accusing him of "playing a political game," and Reuters reported that Qu said, "We will not allow you to play the game here of human rights." Davis said he was concerned that other employees would face retaliation, and Reuters reported that a large crowd of staff gathered at FAO headquarters in Rome on Wednesday to applaud Davis as he departed.
What is at stake next
Davis said his appeal is now going through the FAO’s internal justice process, and Reuters reported it could later be escalated to a UN tribunal with authority to award damages in employment disputes. Reuters also reported that Davis was informed his employment would end on September 30 at the request of Director-General Qu Dongyu, and documents seen by Reuters cited breaches of international civil service standards requiring staff to act with impartiality.
The dispute was tied to Gaza hunger advocacy, because Reuters reported that an international hunger-monitoring system used by UN agencies determined famine in August 2025 and that Davis joined moments of silence for hunger victims. The Guardian reported that Davis’s seminar on hunger in Gaza last September triggered a complaint from the Israeli mission to the FAO, and the Guardian said a diplomat was sent to take pictures of staff taking part in a moment of silence gathering last October.