Senior U.S. Education Department Official Resigns Over Biden's Handling of Gaza Conflict
A high-ranking official in the U.S. Education Department tendered their resignation on Wednesday, expressing dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden's management of the conflict in Gaza. This move highlights the growing dissent within the administration amid the escalating death toll in the war.
Tariq Habash, who served as a special assistant in the Education Department's Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, submitted a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, stating, "I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government." Habash, a Palestinian-American and an expert on student debt, was appointed early in Biden's presidency as part of an effort to enhance the Education Department's expertise in student loans.
In a separate development on the same day, 17 staffers from Biden's re-election campaign issued an anonymous letter, warning that the President could lose voters over the handling of the Gaza issue. The letter, published on Medium, urged Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, citing concerns about volunteers leaving and long-time Democratic voters expressing uncertainty due to the conflict.
The State Department, responding to South Africa's proceedings at the International Court of Justice over Israel's military operations in Gaza, stated on Wednesday that the U.S. has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide. Israel has also denied claims of genocide in Gaza.
This resignation adds to a series of dissenting voices within the Biden administration over its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Former State Department official Josh Paul resigned in October, criticizing the administration's "blind support" for Israel. In November, over 1,000 officials in the U.S. Agency for International Development signed an open letter urging the administration to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged disagreements within the administration in a November letter, and in December, some staff held a vigil near the White House demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
As the conflict persists, with devastating impacts on the Gaza Strip, including significant civilian casualties and infrastructure damage, the Biden administration faces internal and external pressure to reassess its stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
