State Department staffers wrote a scathing internal memo urging the Biden administration to change its public stance toward Israel and support a ceasefire, Politico has reported.
The leaked memo was submitted to the department’s Dissent Channel, where employees are invited to express policy disagreements, the outlet said. It is the latest incident showing internal strife within the department over the U.S. support for its closest ally in the Middle East.
The message reportedly demands the U.S. support a ceasefire and be willing to publicly criticize “Israeli military tactics and treatments of Palestinians,” the outlet reported.
Staffers warned that the U.S. would appear a “biased and dishonest actor” in the war, if it did not air private criticisms of the Israel military.
“We must publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets,” the memo reportedly states. “When Israel supports settler violence and illegal land seizures or employs excessive use of force against Palestinians, we must communicate publicly that this goes against our American values so that Israel does not act with impunity.””
Politico reported that two midlevel staffers wrote this particular memo, but there were several other dissent memos over the Israel-Hamas war currently being shared within the department. The message “reflects the sentiments of many U.S. diplomats,” the report said.
The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment on the matter.
Fox News has previously reported disagreement within the State Department over the Israel-Hamas war.
Josh Paul, who worked for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, resigned last month after Biden announced the U.S. would be supplying weapons to Israel.
“I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be shortsighted, destructive, unjust, and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse,” he wrote to announce his resignation.
A woman identified as a State Department employee has also accused President Biden and his administration of being “complicit in genocide” toward the people in Gaza and warned that it could stifle his re-election chances in 2024.
“Hey @POTUS — so long as you keep showing absolute support for Bibi with no clear, actionable redlines or calls for ceasefire, you continue to support genocide,” Sylvia Yacoub wrote in one post on X. “Your rhetoric and approach from day one has resulted in the deaths of thousands. There is so much blood on your hands.”
The Department previously declined to comment on social media posts by employees criticizing the U.S. policy toward Israel. However, spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing last month the department welcomes internal disagreements.
“We understand – we expect, we appreciate – that different people working in this department have different political beliefs, have different personal beliefs, have different beliefs about what United States policy should be. In fact, we think that’s one of the strengths of this government,” Miller said. “One of the strengths of this department is that we do have people with different opinions. We encourage them to make their opinions known. It, of course, is the President that sets policy, but we encourage everyone, even when they disagree with our policy, to let – to make their leadership know.”
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Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
