A group of State Department staffers have criticized President Joe Biden for his pro-Israel stance, demanding that the president call for a ceasefire, according to a leaked memo obtained by Politico.
Biden and his administration have committed to supporting Israel’s war against Hamas after the terrorist group killed over 1,400 Israelis in an Oct. 7 attack. The Biden administration staffers behind the memo are asking the White House to air criticism of the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians that it would normally keep private, Politico reported.
“We must publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets,” the memo states, according to Politico. “When Israel supports settler violence and illegal land seizures or employs excessive use of force against Palestinians, we must communicate publicly that this goes against our American values so that Israel does not act with impunity.”
The memo claims that there is a gap in the Biden administration’s messaging on the Israel-Hamas war and that the current line “contributes to regional public perceptions that the United States is a biased and dishonest actor, which at best does not advance, and at worst harms, U.S. interests worldwide,” Politico reported. The leaked memo concedes that Israel has the “legitimate right and obligation” to attack Hamas, though it adds that “the extent of human lives lost thus far is unacceptable.”
A digital billboard welcomes US President Joe Biden to Israel on October 18, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel. President Biden will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well with President Isaac Herzog, and with the families of the hostages taken by Hamas. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has repeated multiple times over the past month that the United States believes a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas, though the administration does back a humanitarian pause to give civilians a chance to escape Gaza.
Biden’s pro-Israel stance has drawn criticism from within his own party and from Arab and Muslim Americans. Close allies of the president have continuously warned that Biden’s close support of Israel could result in the U.S. being blamed for how Israel carries out its war against Hamas. Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal has sounded the alarm on the president’s backing of Israel, arguing that his stance could cost the president votes with young Democrats. (RELATED: ‘Very Betrayed’: Young Dems Threaten To Withhold Support For Biden Over His Israel Stance)
Former aides from Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign called for Harris to demand a ceasefire while calling Israel’s war against Hamas a “genocide.”
In late October, the National Muslim Democratic Council released an open letter threatening “to mobilize Muslim, Arab, and allied voters to withhold endorsement, support, or votes for
any candidate who did not advocate for a ceasefire” and noting that the Muslim vote could swing the election in key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.