HuffPost reports that there’s a “revolt” brewing in the State Department over U.S. policy in the Hamas-Israel war.
“State Department staff are trying to simultaneously conduct delicate diplomacy, respond to calls from Congress to demonstrate huge support for Israel and regard for Palestinian lives, and manage global outrage over the impression that the U.S. is providing cover for excessive Israeli force,” writes HuffPo’s Akbar Shahid Ahmed.
In other words, the junior diplomats are upset that the well-worn policy of “proportional response” appears to have been tossed out the window and that blaming Israel for the violence committed by Hamas is off the table.
It’s not surprising. The State Department is the last refuge of foreign policy idealists. After the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union had dissolved, many of them still wanted to broker a peace deal.
The younger staffers had been trained in a culture where all Middle East negotiations began with the premise that the United States and Israel were bad and must acknowledge their sins. Inevitably, in conflicts with Hamas or Hezbollah, after Israel pummeled the terrorists for a few days or weeks, word would be passed by the U.S. that too many civilians were dying and it was time for a cessation of hostilities.
Related: Hamas Reportedly Releases Two American Hostages
But these staffers realize that’s not going to happen this time. And they’re worried that the rest of the world won’t see that standing up for Israel is a moral imperative.
To assuage the feelings of worried diplomats, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote a note to staffers reiterating Biden’s policies.
“I know that, for many of you, this time has not only been challenging professionally, but personally,” he wrote. “Some of our colleagues in the region, especially among our locally employed staff, have been directly affected by the violence, including by losing loved ones and friends.”
“President [Joe] Biden has made clear from the beginning of the crisis — as I underscored across the region — that while we fully support Israel’s right to defend itself, how it does so matters. That means acting in a way that respects the rule of law and international humanitarian standards, and taking every possible precaution to protect civilian life,” he continued.
The Biden administration’s initial reaction to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel was to offer unqualified support to the Israelis, insisting they had the right to defend themselves against the militant group.
That jarred many State Department employees who worried it gave Israel a green light to take measures that would unfairly punish ordinary Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is based. Due to an Israeli siege, water, electricity and fuel are in short supply now in the territory.
The Biden administration’s approach has especially upset Muslim and Arab staffers — but not only them — who felt the language was not nuanced and deaf to longstanding Palestinian concerns. Some worried it would also lead to bad policy outcomes and more long-term violence in the Middle East.
The Gaza civilians would not be in any danger if Hamas weren’t hiding behind them. And there wouldn’t be a siege of Gaza if the terrorists hadn’t taken women and children hostages.
Regardless of what religion a staffer might be, if you can’t fulfill your duties to represent the United States, you can always resign as one staffer did earlier this week. Arab, Muslim, Jew — it doesn’t matter. If you’re going to put your allegiance to a religion ahead of your allegiance to America, the quicker you leave the better.
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