Former State Department official Mike Casey said the US government was defending Israel’s interests rather than its own.
Mike Casey says he’s never seen anything like it.
In fact, the former State Department official — who served as deputy policy advisor in the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs — described his experience as a diplomat in Jerusalem as a humiliation.
“It’s frankly embarrassing… to see the way we give in to the demands of the Israeli government and continue to support what the Israeli government is doing even though we know it’s wrong,” Casey told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“And I haven’t seen that in any other country I’ve served in.”
After four years in his post, Casey resigned in July over what he described as the U.S. government’s unwavering support for Israel despite its devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
His resignation – first reported by The Guardian newspaper this week – is the latest by a US official angered by President Joe Biden’s unwavering military and diplomatic support for Israel since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
To date, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s continued attacks on the coastal enclave.
The conflict has plunged Gaza into a serious humanitarian crisis, and United Nations experts and leading human rights groups have accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes, including genocide.
The United States said it was working to secure a ceasefire and the release of captives held in Gaza. He also said he pushed Israel to minimize civilian casualties during its military operations.
But Biden has refused to use U.S. aid to Israel as leverage to end the war, rebuffing calls to suspend U.S. arms transfers to the main ally.
This sparked anger and criticism from his supporters who dubbed the outgoing Democratic president “Genocide Joe.”
The United States provides Israel at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and researchers at Brown University recently estimated that the Biden administration has provided an additional $17.9 billion since the start of the war in Gaza.
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune on Saturday, Casey said his work in Jerusalem mainly involves writing about the situation in Gaza, from humanitarian concerns to economic and political issues.
He said the US government was aware of the dire conditions in the territory, including the high number of casualties and the lack of humanitarian assistance. “And yet we continue to pursue these policies and support what the Israeli military is doing there,” he said.
“They get all our reporting, they have everything we write and they don’t take it into account. »
Asked why U.S. government policy is the way it is, Casey said he believes part of the reason is that “there is no concern for the suffering of Palestinians.”
“We ignore Palestinian suffering. We accept the Israeli government’s narrative of events even though we know it is not true, and we truly pursue Israel’s interests. We do not pursue our own interests,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“And that’s what pushed me out the door in the end.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to Tel Aviv Tribune’s request for comment on Saturday.