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1 year ago
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More than 400 employees of President Joe Biden's administration have written to him in protest at his support of Israel and demanding that he seek an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Health officials in the Hamas-controlled territory say more than 10,000 people have been killed in an unrelenting Israel assault after terrorists killed more than 1200 people on Oct. 7.
The anonymous authors of the letter say they represent political appointees in the administration, across 40 federal agencies with domestic and foreign responsibilities.
'We call on President Biden to urgently demand a ceasefire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip,' they write.
It will increase pressure on Biden who has positioned himself as Israel's staunchest ally even as world opinion turns against the attack on Gaza.
Pressure is growing on President Joe Biden as more and more of his officials urge an Israel-Gaza ceasefire. He is seen here boarding Air Force One before flying to San Francisco
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza says more than 10,000 people have been killed
The enclave's largest hospital, encircled by Israeli forces, has emerged as a symbol of the humanitarian crisis.
Palestinian authorities want a Red Cross-supervised evacuation of Shifa hospital and say that is the only way to save three dozen newborn babies trapped there.
Meanwhile, several protest letters and memos have circulated throughout the Biden administration.
More than 1,000 staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development signed a letter urging an Israel-Gaza ceasefire.
Last week, Biden was emphatic in saying that was a non-starter, and officials have said publicly they fear it would allow Hamas to reorganize and rearm.
The latest letter, obtained first by the New York Times, was organized by officials who said they worked for Biden because they believed he wanted an administration that was more representative of the country.
'The overwhelming majority of Americans support a cease-fire,' the letter states, linking to a poll from October that shows that 66 percent of Americans, and 80 percent of Democrats, believe the U.S. should push Israel for a ceasefire.
It adds: 'Furthermore, Americans do not want the U.S. military to be drawn into another costly and senseless war in the Middle East.'
Its language is more moderate than an internal State Department dissent memo, which accuses Biden of delivering 'misinformation' in a speech he made three days after the Hamas attack.
It also suggests an equivalence between more than 200 hostages held by Hamas and prisoners in Israeli prisons.
'We strongly recommend that the [U.S. government] advocate for the release of hostages by both Hamas and [Israel,' it says, according to Axios, citing 'thousands' of Palestinians being held in Israel.
Overall, it echos the message of progressives around the country who chafe at Washington's close support of Israel, which the authors accuse of war crimes in its attacks on Gaza.
'Yet we have failed to reassess our posture towards Israel,' the memo states. 'We doubled down on our unwavering military assistance to the (Israeli government) without clear or actionable redlines.'
The memo used an internal, confidential dissent channel. It was set up during the Vietnam war to allow officials to share their concerns without fear of punishment.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday responded to messages with an email to department staff.
'We're listening: What you share is informing our policy and our messages,' he said, according to the New York Times, adding that he understood how the conflict was taking a personal toll on employees.
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