State Department official resigns over U.S. support for Israel's actions in Gaza
Doug Cunningham
Thu, October 19, 2023
State Department official Josh Paul resigned Thursday over what he said was continued U.S. weapons shipments to Israel. He condemned the Hamas terror attack on Israel as "monstrous" but also said Israel's siege of Gaza civilians was collective punishment that violates human rights.
Photo courtesy of Josh Paul LinkedIn
Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A State Department official has resigned over what he says is the Biden administration's decision to keep sending arms to Israel even as it imposes a siege on Gaza that violates international law according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.
Josh Paul, who worked for 11 years at the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, posted his resignation letter on LinkedIn.
In it, he wrote, "Let me be clear: Hamas' attack on Israel was not just a monstrosity; it was a monstrosity of monstrosities. I also believe that potential escalations by Iran-linked groups such as Hezbollah, or by Iran itself, would be a further cynical exploitation of the existing tragedy."
He added, "But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people -- and is not in the long term American interest."
Paul explained that, "Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace leads to neither security, nor to peace. The fact is, blind support for one side is destructive in the long term to the interests of the people on both sides. I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer."
Paul said he believes the administration's response is an impulsive reaction built on "confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy and bureaucratic inertia."
Paul wrote that what he desires most is that both Israelis and Palestinians have protection and the right to flourish.
"The murder of civilians is an enemy to that desire -- whether by terrorists as they dance at a rave, or by terrorists as they harvest their olive grove," Paul said in his resignation letter. "The kidnapping of children is an enemy to that desire -- whether taken at gunpoint from their kibbutz or taken at gunpoint from their village. And, collective punishment is an enemy to that desire, whether it involves demolishing one home, or one thousand; as too is ethnic cleansing; as too is occupation; as too is apartheid."
Paul said he had seen U.S. weapons shipments sent to other Middle Eastern countries, even when federal should have prevented them.
He said when gross violations of human rights occur, like the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel or when Israel cuts off water, electricity, food and medicine to millions of people in a "collective punishment" the U.N. deems a violation of international law, the U.S. must call it out.
"And, when they happen, to be able to name gross violations of human rights no matter who carries them out, and to be able to hold the perpetrators accountable -- when they are adversaries, which is easy, but most particularly, when they are partners," Paul wrote.
Veteran State Dept. Official resigns over U.S.'s 'blind support' of Israel in its war against Hamas
Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A State Department official has resigned over what he says is the Biden administration's decision to keep sending arms to Israel even as it imposes a siege on Gaza that violates international law according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.
Josh Paul, who worked for 11 years at the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, posted his resignation letter on LinkedIn.
In it, he wrote, "Let me be clear: Hamas' attack on Israel was not just a monstrosity; it was a monstrosity of monstrosities. I also believe that potential escalations by Iran-linked groups such as Hezbollah, or by Iran itself, would be a further cynical exploitation of the existing tragedy."
He added, "But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people -- and is not in the long term American interest."
Paul explained that, "Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace leads to neither security, nor to peace. The fact is, blind support for one side is destructive in the long term to the interests of the people on both sides. I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer."
Paul said he believes the administration's response is an impulsive reaction built on "confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy and bureaucratic inertia."
Paul wrote that what he desires most is that both Israelis and Palestinians have protection and the right to flourish.
"The murder of civilians is an enemy to that desire -- whether by terrorists as they dance at a rave, or by terrorists as they harvest their olive grove," Paul said in his resignation letter. "The kidnapping of children is an enemy to that desire -- whether taken at gunpoint from their kibbutz or taken at gunpoint from their village. And, collective punishment is an enemy to that desire, whether it involves demolishing one home, or one thousand; as too is ethnic cleansing; as too is occupation; as too is apartheid."
Paul said he had seen U.S. weapons shipments sent to other Middle Eastern countries, even when federal should have prevented them.
He said when gross violations of human rights occur, like the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel or when Israel cuts off water, electricity, food and medicine to millions of people in a "collective punishment" the U.N. deems a violation of international law, the U.S. must call it out.
"And, when they happen, to be able to name gross violations of human rights no matter who carries them out, and to be able to hold the perpetrators accountable -- when they are adversaries, which is easy, but most particularly, when they are partners," Paul wrote.
Veteran State Dept. Official resigns over U.S.'s 'blind support' of Israel in its war against Hamas
Abigail Williams and Summer Concepcion
Thu, October 19, 2023
GPO
A State Department official with over a decade of experience in the agency’s bureau that oversees U.S. arms sales resigned this week, citing what he called the U.S.'s "blind support" for Israel in its war with Hamas war and its continued "provision of lethal arms to Israel."
Josh Paul, who served as director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs for more than 11 years, posted a letter about his resignation, dated Wednesday, to LinkedIn.
In the letter, which was first reported by HuffPost, Paul wrote that Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel was a “monstrosity” and criticized the Biden administration’s assistance to the country.
"I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued — indeed, expanded and expedited — provision of lethal arms to Israel — I have reached the end of that bargain," he wrote.
“I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people, and is not in the long term American interest,” Paul wrote. “This Administration’s response — and much of Congress’ as well — is an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy and bureaucratic inertia.”
“That is to say, it is immensely disappointing, and entirely unsurprising,” he added. “Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace leads to neither security, nor to peace. The fact is, blind support for one side is destructive in the long term to the interest of the people on both sides. I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer.”
Paul said that he has “deep personal ties to both sides of the conflict” and he wrote his master’s thesis on Israeli counterterrorism and civil rights. He also said he served for the U.S. Security Coordinator, "living in Ramallah while advancing security sector governance within the Palestinian Authority and liaising with the [Israel Defense Force]."
“I acknowledge and am heartened to see the efforts this Administration has made to temper Israel’s response, including advocating for the provision of relief supplies, electricity, and water to Gaza, and for safe passage,” he wrote. “In my role in the [Bureau of Political-Military Affairs], however, my responsibilities lie solidly in the arms transfer space. And that is why I have resigned from the U.S. Government, and from PM.”
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on personnel matters when asked for a response to Paul's letter.
Paul’s resignation letter was posted to Linkedin on the day of President Joe Biden’s latest trip to Israel, during which he reaffirmed his support for the country and said that he was planning to ask Congress for an “unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense.” Biden also announced $100 million in new U.S. funding for humanitarian aid to both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
During his remarks in Tel Aviv, Biden said that a “terrorist group in Gaza” was apparently responsible for the deadly blast at a Christian-run hospital in Gaza City that is estimated to have killed hundreds.
When asked what made him confident the Israelis were not behind the hospital explosion, Biden said: “The data I was shown by my Defense Department." He did not provide any supporting evidence.
NBC News previously reported that the U.S. has an independent assessment that it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad group rocket that misfired and hit the hospital in Gaza, according to two senior U.S. officials.
That would match what Israeli officials have said caused the blast. Palestinian health officials and Hamas have blamed an Israeli airstrike for the explosion, which they said killed almost 500 people.
The Biden administration is expected to submit to Congress this week a request for supplemental funding package that is likely to seek $60 billion for Ukraine, a lawmaker and two sources with knowledge of the request told NBC News on Wednesday. The rest of the request will include roughly $40 billion to provide aid to Israel, Taiwan and the U.S.-Mexico border.
Following his trip to Israel, Biden is scheduled deliver a prime-time foreign policy speech to the country on Thursday night, during which he's expected to address the administration’s response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
As of Thursday morning, more than 3,700 people have been killed and more than 13,000 have been injured in Gaza. In Israel, 1,400 people have been killed and 3,500 wounded.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
'I Couldn't Shift Anything': Senior State Department Official Resigns Over Biden's Gaza Policy
Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Updated Wed, October 18, 2023
Veteran State Department official Josh Paul resigned from the agency on Tuesday over President Joe Biden’s approach to Israel-Palestine, telling HuffPost he felt he had to do so because he knew he could not push for a more humane policy within the U.S. government.
“I have had my fair share of debates and discussions and efforts to shift policy on controversial arms sales,” said Paul, who spent more than 11 years at State’s bureau of political-military affairs, which handles weapons deals. He most recently served as the bureau’s director of congressional and public affairs.
“It was clear that there’s no arguing with this one. Given that I couldn’t shift anything, I resigned,” he told HuffPost on Wednesday evening in his first media interview since he revealed his decision, which he also described in a LinkedIn post.
The department received “a clear top-down guidance that we are moving forward with everything we can,” Paul said. Asked when he decided to quit, he told HuffPost: “I wouldn’t say there was a single decision point — it was watching things unfold over the last 10 days.”
In response to an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel has been waging an increasingly aggressive campaign in Gaza, where Hamas is based and more than 2 million people live in already impoverished conditions. Biden has repeatedly promised extensive support to Israel in its operation.
Multiple officials within the Biden administration who want the U.S. to encourage Israeli restraint and concern for civilians as the country seeks to exact vengeance against Hamas have told HuffPost they are experiencing a chilling effect.
Paul’s public announcement of his resignation sent shockwaves through the State Department on Wednesday. He said he was struck by how colleagues across the government and in Congress received his internal message: “I’ve been surprised by how many have said, ‘We absolutely understand where you’re coming from, we feel similarly and understand.’”
Paul told HuffPost he had been on leave last week, adding: “It was pretty fortunate because I think if I hadn’t been I would have been fired rather than have the time to think it over and resign.”
A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Paul’s decision.
I wouldn’t say there was a single decision point — it was watching things unfold over the last 10 days.Former State Department official Josh Paul
In his LinkedIn message, Paul noted that he felt he had been able to use his role to make “many differences ... on pending administration decisions to transfer lethal weapons to countries that abuse human rights, to sculpting policies and practices that advance human rights, to working tirelessly to advance those policies and decisions that are good and just.”
Various U.S. presidents considered and approved billions of dollars in arms sales to controversial nations during his tenure — for instance, to Saudi Arabia in its ongoing war in Yemen.
“When I came to this bureau ... I knew it was not without its moral complexity and moral compromises, and I made myself a promise that I would stay for as long as I felt … the harm I might do could be outweighed by the good I could do,” Paul wrote on LinkedIn. “In my 11 years I have made more moral compromises than I can recall, each heavily, but each with my promise to myself in mind, and intact. I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued – indeed, expanded and expedited – provision of lethal arms to Israel – I have reached the end of that bargain.”
Paul described Hamas’ assault on Israel ― which killed more than 1,400 people ― as “a monstrosity of monstrosities.”
“But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people,” he continued.
He concluded his note by wishing fellow government officials “continued success, strength and courage.”
“And I wish all of us ― peace,” Paul said.
Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Updated Wed, October 18, 2023
Veteran State Department official Josh Paul resigned from the agency on Tuesday over President Joe Biden’s approach to Israel-Palestine, telling HuffPost he felt he had to do so because he knew he could not push for a more humane policy within the U.S. government.
“I have had my fair share of debates and discussions and efforts to shift policy on controversial arms sales,” said Paul, who spent more than 11 years at State’s bureau of political-military affairs, which handles weapons deals. He most recently served as the bureau’s director of congressional and public affairs.
“It was clear that there’s no arguing with this one. Given that I couldn’t shift anything, I resigned,” he told HuffPost on Wednesday evening in his first media interview since he revealed his decision, which he also described in a LinkedIn post.
The department received “a clear top-down guidance that we are moving forward with everything we can,” Paul said. Asked when he decided to quit, he told HuffPost: “I wouldn’t say there was a single decision point — it was watching things unfold over the last 10 days.”
In response to an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel has been waging an increasingly aggressive campaign in Gaza, where Hamas is based and more than 2 million people live in already impoverished conditions. Biden has repeatedly promised extensive support to Israel in its operation.
Multiple officials within the Biden administration who want the U.S. to encourage Israeli restraint and concern for civilians as the country seeks to exact vengeance against Hamas have told HuffPost they are experiencing a chilling effect.
Paul’s public announcement of his resignation sent shockwaves through the State Department on Wednesday. He said he was struck by how colleagues across the government and in Congress received his internal message: “I’ve been surprised by how many have said, ‘We absolutely understand where you’re coming from, we feel similarly and understand.’”
Paul told HuffPost he had been on leave last week, adding: “It was pretty fortunate because I think if I hadn’t been I would have been fired rather than have the time to think it over and resign.”
A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Paul’s decision.
I wouldn’t say there was a single decision point — it was watching things unfold over the last 10 days.Former State Department official Josh Paul
In his LinkedIn message, Paul noted that he felt he had been able to use his role to make “many differences ... on pending administration decisions to transfer lethal weapons to countries that abuse human rights, to sculpting policies and practices that advance human rights, to working tirelessly to advance those policies and decisions that are good and just.”
Various U.S. presidents considered and approved billions of dollars in arms sales to controversial nations during his tenure — for instance, to Saudi Arabia in its ongoing war in Yemen.
“When I came to this bureau ... I knew it was not without its moral complexity and moral compromises, and I made myself a promise that I would stay for as long as I felt … the harm I might do could be outweighed by the good I could do,” Paul wrote on LinkedIn. “In my 11 years I have made more moral compromises than I can recall, each heavily, but each with my promise to myself in mind, and intact. I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued – indeed, expanded and expedited – provision of lethal arms to Israel – I have reached the end of that bargain.”
Paul described Hamas’ assault on Israel ― which killed more than 1,400 people ― as “a monstrosity of monstrosities.”
“But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people,” he continued.
He concluded his note by wishing fellow government officials “continued success, strength and courage.”
“And I wish all of us ― peace,” Paul said.
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