As of June 8, eight people have resigned from U.S. government positions in protest of the Biden administration’s policies in Israel’s conflict against Palestine. Now, they are collaborating to not only increase public pressure on the Biden Administration to call for a ceasefire, but also to encourage others who have not yet resigned, but who also disagree with the administration’s policies, according to CNN on June 9.
The eight are Josh Paul, Harrison Mann, Tariq Habash, Annelle Sheline, Hala Rharrit, Lily Greenberg Call, Alex Smith, and Stacy Gilbert.
CNN reported that “they felt their perspectives, expertise and concerns were not being heeded, and that the administration was willingly ignoring the humanitarian toll caused by Israel’s military campaign. They spoke of the damage they felt U.S. policy on the war is having on the country’s credibility and a sense that the administration did not fully grasp that impact.… ‘We’re thinking about how we can use our shared concern and to continue to press together for change,’ said Paul, a State Department official who publicly resigned in protest in October, becoming the first U.S. official to do so.
“The ‘resignees,’ as Smith called them, have all been in touch with each other and are ‘hoping to use our collective power to speak in press releases to make our voices well, to speak for many of the staff who are still employed and cannot speak because they would like to keep their jobs, which is a very fair thing.’
“’If we can be a resource to help others find their voice, find a way to try to affect some policy change, that would be useful,’ said Gilbert, noting there may be new ways that people within the administration make their disagreement over the policy heard.”
Here’s are their former occupations: Alex Smith, former contractor for the USAID; Annelle Sheline, former U.S. State Department; Hala Rharrit, career U.S. Diplomat; Harrison Mann, Jewish American U.S. Army Major and Defense Intelligence Agency operative; Josh Paul, former U.S. State Department; Lily Greenberg Call, first Jewish Biden appointee, Department of the Interior; Stacy Gilbert, former U.S. State Department; Tariq Habash, Palestinian American Biden appointee, Department of Education.
