Dissent grows in Biden administration over Gaza war.
A high-ranking official in the U.S. Education Department resigned on Wednesday over President Joe Biden’s approach to the Gaza crisis, adding to the growing dissent within the administration as the war toll mounts.
On the same day, 17 staffers from Biden’s re-election campaign anonymously warned that the president could alienate voters over the issue in a letter posted on Medium.
In his resignation letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Tariq Habash, a special assistant in the department’s Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, said: “I cannot remain silent as this administration ignores the atrocities inflicted on innocent Palestinian lives, in what prominent human rights experts have labeled a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government.”
Habash, who is of Palestinian descent and a specialist on student debt, joined the Biden administration early in its term as part of an effort to expand the department’s student loan capacity.
The 17 Biden campaign staffers, in their letter, urged Biden to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
“This conflict has caused volunteers to leave in large numbers, and longtime blue voters to question their loyalty for the first time ever,” the letter said.
Biden’s campaign did not reply to a request for comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the U.S. has not witnessed any acts of genocide in Gaza. He was responding to a case initiated by South Africa at the International Court of Justice against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Israel has also rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza.
Josh Paul, a former State Department official, quit the Biden administration in October over what he termed the administration’s “unconditional support” for Israel.
In November, over 1,000 staff members of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a branch of the State Department, signed a public letter calling on the Biden administration to seek an immediate ceasefire.
Following at least three cables expressing dissent over the administration’s policy through the State Department’s internal “dissent channel,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted to differences in a November letter.
In December, some Biden administration employees held a vigil near the White House to press for a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Israeli figures, Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel killed 1,200 people. Another 240 captives were taken to Gaza. The Gaza health ministry said that the total confirmed Palestinian fatalities from Israel’s counterattack had reached 22,313 by Wednesday, nearly 1% of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants.
Israeli airstrikes have razed much of the crowded territory, leaving most Gazans without shelter, and facing food scarcity and possible starvation.
The United States has publicly criticized the language of some Israeli ministers and urged Israel to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza. Critics contend that Washington is not using its clout as a major provider of weapons and assistance to sway Israeli policy.
