Washington DC – When your children ask you what you did during the war in Gaza, what will you say?
That’s how a federal government employee in the United States described her motivation for organizing a “day of mourning” with her colleagues on Tuesday to recognize more than 100 days of war in the Palestinian enclave.
She and a group of federal workers, acting anonymously as Feds United for Peace, agreed to take a mass leave of absence from their jobs, in a protest against the rising death toll in Gaza and the role of states -United in war.
The move is the latest to highlight discontent within President Joe Biden’s administration. Biden expressed “strong and unwavering” support for Israel, despite growing human rights concerns during his months-long military campaign in Gaza.
More than 24,200 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting and nearly 1.9 million have been displaced.
“When your children ask you, ‘What did you do?’ “, we don’t mean that we just looked from the sidelines. And we hope that everyone who has a conscience will look at this situation and take it upon themselves not to look sideways,” said the organizer, who added that she has more than 15 years of experience in the federal government .
She and a second organizer spoke to Tel Aviv Tribune on condition of anonymity for fear of professional repercussions. They said the group represents employees — both career professionals and political figures — at 27 government agencies, including the White House and Congress.
“We are really not activists. There may be some political appointees among our group, but we are in no way political,” said the second organizer.
“This group is really born out of this immense frustration and sadness of seeing the war continue for so long – the death and massive destruction that is taking place in Gaza over the last 100 days,” he said.
Months of internal discord
Members of the Biden administration have repeatedly expressed frustration with the president’s position and called for a ceasefire in Gaza, including through public statements and open letters.
There have even been high-profile resignations. State Department official Josh Paul left his post over Biden’s handling of the war, as did Tariq Habash of the Education Department.
Habash was the only Palestinian American political official appointed by the department at the time of his departure. He later told Tel Aviv Tribune that leaving was “the only thing” he could do in the face of a US policy that has had an “almost daily dehumanizing effect” on Palestinians.
Nevertheless, Washington continues to provide military aid to Israel, without setting “red lines” to limit its use. An estimated $3.8 billion is set aside each year for the country, with Biden bypassing Congress twice last month to approve new arms sales.
The Biden administration recently called on the Israeli government to shift to more targeted operations with fewer civilian casualties, but Palestinian American advocates said those words ring hollow without more decisive action.
Biden also angered Palestinian rights supporters after questioning the death toll provided by Gaza authorities.
That’s why the latest move by federal employees “didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Jasmine El-Gamal, a foreign policy analyst and former Middle East adviser at the Pentagon.
“We have seen for months federal employees, both in the executive branch and the legislative branch, trying to call attention to the fact that there is a tremendous level of dissent within the Biden administration and the Some people working on the Biden campaign are also against his policies regarding Gaza,” El-Gamal told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Critics said Biden’s statement Sunday to mark the 100th day of the war echoed a pattern of dehumanization toward Palestinians.
The US president denounced “a devastating and tragic step” for those held captive by Hamas, the group which attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,139 Israelis and kidnapping hundreds more.
But Biden made no mention of the heavy death toll in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis there. United Nations experts have warned of a “grave risk of genocide” in the territory.
These human rights concerns have led to an “extremely rare, if not unprecedented,” level of dissent within the Biden administration, according to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
“We haven’t seen anything like this,” Parsi said. He said it took years for members of other governments to organize to protest their president. “Even during the Iraq War, for example – not just at the beginning but also after – more and more lawmakers began to express their concerns and opposition in 2004 and 2005.”
Although Democratic Party members of Congress remain predominantly pro-Israel, some have come forward to demand a cease-fire and push for more control over arms transfers to Israel.
At least 63 members of Congress have called for an end to the fighting altogether. On Tuesday, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would require the United States to conduct a review of human rights in Israel before more weapons are transferred.
Dismay over the administration’s policies has also led to potentially damaging political fallout for Biden on the campaign trail, as he seeks re-election in 2024.
Support for the Democrat among Arab and Muslim voters has fallen to an all-time low, according to an October poll. Biden is widely expected to face former President Donald Trump in the November general election.
“One of the key qualities that Biden, and frankly any Democrat, immediately had over Trump was having the moral upper hand in the eyes of many in his own base,” Parsi said.
“Biden squandered that money by supporting a massacre in Gaza, refusing to listen and even spreading false information about it. »
“Our livelihoods in danger”
But for those seeking to send a message to Biden from inside his administration, the stakes are high.
Following a report on the federal government’s planned action for peace last week on the website Al-Monitor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, tweeted: “Any public servant who leaves his job to protest the United States’ support for our ally Israel, ignoring its responsibility. and abuse the trust of taxpayers.
“They deserve to be fired,” he wrote, adding that he would “ensure that every federal agency takes appropriate disciplinary proceedings against anyone who abandons their job.”
One of the organizers of Feds United for Peace told Tel Aviv Tribune: “As federal staff, we are prohibited by law from striking, so this action was never a strike. »
“This was never intended as a walkout. It was intended as a day of mourning. And employees took different types of leave for this day of mourning and used it in different ways,” she said, adding that watching the “horrors unfold” in Gaza “took a heavy toll on people.” who care about what’s happening.”
“It was also an opportunity for people to take a day and take care of themselves in order to continue their work and their struggle,” she said.
“As much as we try to protect ourselves, I think all of us recognize that we are putting our livelihoods at risk,” the second organizer said. Although the organizer did not specify how many people were participating in the walkout, he nevertheless said that participation “exceeded expectations.”
Many, however, keep a low profile, “due to a feeling of intimidation.”
The group calls on the Biden administration to support an immediate ceasefire, stop undermining international efforts to hold Israel accountable, prioritize the entry of humanitarian goods into Gaza, and facilitate the release captives.
“We entered public service to serve the United States, to try to reflect the best of the United States,” the first organizer said. “And so, in this particular case, we believe it is a moral obligation and a patriotic duty to our country to use the means at our disposal to try to instigate a change of course in White House policy .”