United States Officials Protest
Updated 2024-08-29
2024-07-18 230 Congressional Staffers Urge Lawmakers to Boycott Netanyahu Speech n anonymous letter supported by 230 staffers in the House of Representatives and the Senate is urging lawmakers to boycott a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to address Congress later this month as Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza rages on.
The letter, organized by members of the Congressional Progressive Staff Association and endorsed by staffers representing the offices of 122 Democratic and Republican lawmakers, describes the demand for a boycott of Netanyahu’s speech as an “issue of morality” that transcends politics, and notes that “citizens, students, and lawmakers across the country and the world have spoken out against the actions of Mr. Netanyahu,” including Israeli citizens.
Several staffers (and some lawmakers) plan to skip the speech in protest of Israel’s relentless bombing and starvation campaign in Gaza. In their letter, the staffers urge their bosses to do the same.https://truthout.org/articles/230-congressional-staffers-urge-lawmakers-to-boycott-netanyahu-speech/
2024-07-02 Service in Dissent: Joint Statement of U.S. Government Officials Who Have Resigned Over U.S. Policy Towards Gaza, Palestine, and Israel We are former U.S. Government Officials who resigned from our respective positions over the last nine months due to our grave concerns with current U.S. policy towards the crisis in Gaza, and U.S. policies and practices towards Palestine and Israel more broadly.
We are subject matter experts representing the interagency, and are a multifaith and multiethnic community of professionals and patriots dedicated to the service of the United States of America, its people, and its values. Whether in the civil service, foreign service, armed forces, or as political appointees, each of us has sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and as our nation celebrates its Independence Day, each of us are reminded that we resigned from government not to terminate that oath but to continue to abide by it; not to end our commitment to service, but to extend it.
Alone, we each made the somber and difficult decision to resign based on the individual circumstances we encountered at different times during these past nine months as we performed our specific jobs. But today we stand united in a shared belief that it is our collective responsibility to speak up……. https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/07/02/service-in-dissent-joint-statement-of-u-s-government-officials-who-have-resigned-over-u-s-policy-towards-gaza-palestine-and-israel/
2024-05-15 Jewish U.S. Interior Department Staffer Resigns Over U.S. Support of Israel The special assistant to the chief of staff for the U.S. Interior Department became the first Jewish political appointee to publicly resign in response to the United State’s continued support of Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza. On Wednesday, Lily Greenberg Call wrote a letter accusing the United States of “enabling Israeli war crimes and the status quo of an apartheid and occupation” and “making Jews the face of the American war machine.”
“Israel’s ongoing offensive against Palestinians does not keep Jewish people safe — in Israel, nor in the United States,” she wrote. “What I have learned from my Jewish tradition is that every life is precious. That we are obligated to stand up for those facing violence and oppression, and to question authority in the face of injustice.”https://www.yahoo.com/news/jewish-u-interior-department-staffer-215906067.html
2024-03-28 I Could Not Stay Silent: Annelle Sheline Resigns from State Dept. over U.S. Gaza Policy A State Department official working on human rights issues in the Middle East resigned Wednesday in protest of U.S. support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. Annelle Sheline, who worked as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was not planning on publicly resigning, but her colleagues asked her to “please speak out” against the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel. “At the end of the day, many people inside [the State Department] know that this is a horrific policy, and can’t believe that the United States government is engaged in such actions that contravene American values so directly, but the leadership is not listening,” says Sheline. “I’m trying to speak on behalf of those many, many people who feel so betrayed by our government’s stance.”
Sheline describes being moved by the words of Aaron Bushnell, the active-duty U.S. airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in protest of the war on Gaza, who implored everyone to take a stand against genocide. “I have a young daughter, and I thought about, in the future, if she were to ask me, ‘What were you doing when this was happening? You were at the State Department.’ I want to be able to tell her that I didn’t stay silent.” Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRI-MtoSD_E
2024-03-27 BRAVE State Dept. Official Resigns Over Biden’s Handling Of Gaza War Annelle Sheline, a foreign affairs officer of the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, said her job of advocating for human rights has become impossible. Ana Kasparian discusses on The Young Turks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI_nhRgvp0g
2024-02-07 War on Gaza: After Unrwa cuts, congressional staffers organise Gaza fundraiser After the Biden administration abruptly suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), amid congressional calls for that aid to be permanently stopped, a group of appalled staffers on Capitol Hill have taken matters into their own hands.
Rather than following their bosses in Congress or agreeing to the administration’s aid suspension, staffers are organising a fundraiser next week in DC to help raise money for humanitarian assistance in Gaza, as well as for organisations working to free the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. “We feel like we have a responsibility to do more when you see our members and our president and the administration refusing to do so,” an organiser with Congressional Staff for Ceasefire Now said in a phone interview with MEE.
The fundraiser will take place next Thursday. Organisers also plan to create a GoFundMe page and open up their fundraising efforts to the public. “While we’re obviously not going to be able to raise the millions of dollars, or the billions of dollars, that Congress could appropriate for this aid, we can certainly do our part and make our splash.” https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-after-cuts-unrwa-congressional-staffers-organise-gaza-fundraiser
2024-02-03 ‘Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide’ – Hundreds of US, EU, UK Civil Servants Issue Joint Statement on Gaza More than 800 civil servants from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have released a statement criticizing their governments’ support of Israel in its ongoing aggression on Gaza, warning that such policies could be contributing to war crimes and violations of international law.
The ‘transatlantic statement’ emphasized that Western governments risk being complicit in “one of the worst human catastrophes of this century” by failing to hold Israel to the same international humanitarian aid and human rights standards they apply to other countries. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/ethnic-cleansing-and-genocide-hundreds-of-us-eu-uk-civil-servants-issue-joint-statement-on-gaza/
2024-01-30 Federal Workers Plan Daylong Fast in Solidarity With Gaza Feds United for Peace said their second action this month “aims to shed light on the humanitarian crisis faced by the people of Gaza and promote dialogue around lasting solutions.” A group of workers at over two dozen U.S. government agencies are planning a “Day of Fasting” on Thursday in what they called “a powerful display of solidarity with the people of Gaza,” who are enduring a genocidal Israeli assault supported by the Biden administration.
Feds United for Peace—who earlier this month held a “Day of Mourning” to mark 100 days of the war—said Monday that the planned daylong hunger strike is meant “to raise awareness and support those affected” by the relentless Israeli onslaught and “aims to shed light on the humanitarian crisis faced by the people of Gaza and promote dialogue around lasting solutions.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/feds-united-for-peace
2023-11-23 State Department Official Resigns, Says Israel Is Using U.S. Arms to Massacre Civilians in Gaza We speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official, about his decision to resign from his position in protest of U.S. arms sales to Israel amid its recent bombardment of Gaza. Paul tells Democracy Now!, “I decided to resign for three reasons, the first and most pressing of which is the very, I believe, uncontroversial fact that U.S.-provided arms should not be used to massacre civilians, should not be used to result in massive civilian casualties.” https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/23/dissenters_2
2023-11-19 Dissent Over U.S. Policy in the Israel-Hamas War Stirs Protests From Federal Employees Federal government workers from the State Department to NASA are circulating open letters demanding that President Joe Biden pursue a cease-fire in Israel’s war against Hamas. Congressional staffers are picking up microphones in front of the Capitol, speaking out to condemn what they say is the silence of lawmakers about the toll on Palestinian civilians.
As the deaths soar in Gaza, Biden and Congress are facing unusually public challenges from the inside over their support for Israel’s offensive. Hundreds of staffers in the administration and on Capitol Hill are signing on to open letters, speaking to reporters and holding vigils, all in an effort to shift U.S. policy toward more urgent action to stem Palestinian casualties.
“Most of our bosses on Capitol Hill are not listening to the people they represent,” one of the congressional staffers told the crowd at a protest this month. Wearing medical masks that obscured their faces, the roughly 100 congressional aides heaped flowers in front of Congress to honor the civilians killed in the conflict. https://time.com/6337379/us-policy-israel-hamas-war-dissent/
2023-11-15 Biden Faces Rebellion Over Israel Policy | Vantage with Palki Sharma Over 500 political appointees and staff members from about 40 US government agencies sent a letter to US President Joe Biden, protesting against his unwavering support for Israel. The letter, presented to Biden and his cabinet, calls for the president to seek an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The US has acknowledged this dissent but there is still no change to policy. Palki Sharma tells you all about the brewing dissent in the United States. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQH8HYIkCwU
2023-11-13 LEAKED State Dept. Memo Condemns Biden’s Policies On Israel An State Department dissent memo said that Israel is committing war crimes and that President Biden is misleading the American people on what’s happening. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks. “An internal State Department dissent memo accuses President Biden of “spreading misinformation” on the Israel-Hamas war and alleges that Israel is committing “war crimes” in Gaza, according to a copy of the memo obtained by Axios. Why it matters: The scathing five-page memo — organized by a junior diplomat who has suggested on social media that Biden’s support of Israel has made him “complicit in genocide” in Gaza — offers a rare look at the raw divisions within the Biden administration over the Israel-Hamas war.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnK1ELXjHsw&list=RDNSDQH8HYIkCwU&index=2
2023-11-09 Former State Dept. official who resigned over U.S. arming Israel: ‘Ceasefire is number one priority’ The former State Department official who resigned over the U.S. arming Israel speaks to Joy Reid. Josh Paul, former director of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs tells Joy: “When Russia bombs hospitals, we condemn it as a war crime. When Russia takes out the power grid of a country, we condemn it as a war crime. But, when Israel does it, we provide the bombs.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpehb1IsdLg&list=RDNSDQH8HYIkCwU&index=4
2023-11-03 State Department Official Resigns, Says Israel Is Using U.S. Arms to Massacre Civilians in Gaza We speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned last month to protest continued arms sales to Israel amid its bombardment of Gaza, writing in a viral letter that one-sided U.S. support for Israel is “shortsighted,” “destructive” and “contradictory.” Media reports say many others inside the State Department are equally frustrated with the U.S. role in the conflict. Paul tells Democracy Now! he tried to raise his concerns with his superiors but found “no appetite for that discussion” and that unlike all other U.S. arms sales that take humanitarian concerns into account, Israel gets a blank check. Paul says the overall message inside the Biden administration is: “Don’t question the policy because it’s coming from the top.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w9fAgaUBrw 2023-10-19 State Department Official Quits to Protest Biden Administration’s “Blind Support” of Israel A high-ranking State Department official has resigned in protest of the Biden administration’s policies on Israel and Palestine. For 11 years, Josh Paul oversaw arms transfers to U.S. allies while serving as the congressional and public affairs director of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. In a letter explaining his resignation, Paul condemned what he called U.S. “blind support” for Israel as “an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia.” Paul wrote that his greatest desire was to see both Israelis and Palestinians flourish, adding, “Collective punishment is an enemy to that desire, whether it involves demolishing one home, or one thousand; as too is ethnic cleansing; as too is occupation; as too is apartheid.” https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/19/headlines/gaza_death_toll_nears_3_800_as_israels_siege_and_bombardment_enters_13th_day
.
Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict
.
progressiveissuesblog 