As a representative of a government that is directly enabling what the International Court of Justice has said could plausibly be a genocide in Gaza, such work has become almost impossible. Unable to serve an administration that enables such atrocities, I have decided to resign from my position at the Department of State.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour spoke to the latest US State Department official to resign in protest of the Biden administration’s continued support of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows.
Annelle Sheline was interviewed by Amanpour on CNN International after she published an op-ed on CNN.com explaining her very public resignation:
For the past year, I worked for the office devoted to promoting human rights in the Middle East. I believe strongly in the mission and in the important work of that office. However, as a representative of a government that is directly enabling what the International Court of Justice has said could plausibly be a genocide in Gaza, such work has become almost impossible. Unable to serve an administration that enables such atrocities, I have decided to resign from my position at the Department of State.
Whatever credibility the United States had as an advocate for human rights has almost entirely vanished since the war began.
President Joe Biden and his administration have signaled some distancing from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently, but the move came too late for Sheline and, Josh Paul, another State Department official who resigned last October:
Amanpour: So, you can hear the US saying that over and over again now, I mean, really for a long time. So, they’re trying to thread a needle and they are dropping aid. They are complaining and demanding that more aid goes in. Tell me what you’re noticing about maybe a shift in the public posture of the administration.
Sheline: I think it’s encouraging that we have started to see some degree of a shift, but at present, it has made almost no difference to the lives of people starving and being bombed inside Gaza. I think to the extent that even things like the U.S. being willing to abstain at the UN Security Council is significant. But then the administration came out and immediately said that that was non-binding. So, in general, I just find that the way the administration is trying to do this, I think they made a political calculation that they thought that it made the most sense politically to maintain this extreme support for Israel, regardless of the illegal behaviors that Israel engages in.
And I just want to be clear that Israel is in violation of U.S. laws, whether it’s the Leahy laws or Section 620 I of the Foreign Assistance Act. The law is very clear here. And I worry very much that not only when the administration flouts those laws, it’s not only having a devastating effect for the people of Gaza but for U.S. moral standing abroad. And this administration came in pledging to reestablish America’s moral leadership and to reengage in international institutions, and this was something that many of my colleagues inside the state believed in. And this is part of why so many people, are feeling so betrayed by the decisions this administration keeps making.
Sheline also made it clear that she believes she is not alone: I know that I speak for many people. There’s a group, for example, called Feds United for Peace, they’re outside of the State. But in other government agencies, there are many other groups of people who are very concerned about this. Staffers for Ceasefire, for example, among Hill staffers. People are shocked and appalled by what the U.S. government is doing. Many people continue to do very important work inside the State Department and continue to feel that their efforts are making a difference on, you know, the many, many issues that the State Department is involved in. But on the other hand, I do know people who may be considering resigning.
Video Credits: CNN
