Division in the State Dept. Over Israel
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Division in the State Dept. Over Israel
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Many in the State Department are unhappy with America’s siding with Israel. Will this impact our nation’s response to the war?
From HuffPost. President Joe Biden’s approach to the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine is fueling mounting tensions at the U.S. government agency most involved in foreign policy: the State Department.
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Officials told HuffPost that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his most senior advisers are overlooking widespread internal frustration. Some department staff said they feel as if Blinken and his team are uninterested in their own experts’ advice as they focus on supporting Israel’s expanding operation in Gaza, where the Palestinian militant group Hamas is based.
“There’s basically a mutiny brewing within State at all levels,” one State Department official said. …
Biden and Blinken say they want to help Israel decisively defeat Hamas, but that they do not want to see suffering among ordinary Gazans or a broader regional conflict. …
Two officials told HuffPost that diplomats are preparing what’s called a “dissent cable,” a document criticizing American policy that goes to the agency’s leaders through a protected internal channel.
Such cables are seen within the State Department as consequential statements of serious disagreement at key historical moments. The dissent channel was established amid deep internal conflict during the Vietnam War, and diplomats have since then used it to warn that the U.S. is making dangerous and self-defeating choices abroad.
The cable would come in the wake of Josh Paul, a veteran State Department official, announcing his resignation on Wednesday. After more than a decade of working on arms deals, he said, he could not morally support the U.S.’s moves to supply Israel’s war effort.
“In the last 24 hours, I’ve been getting an immense amount of outreach from colleagues… with really encouraging words of support and a lot of people saying they feel the same way and it’s very difficult for them,” said Paul, whose departure was first reported by HuffPost. …
Key decisions are made at the highest level by Biden, Blinken and a handful of others. But rank-and-file State Department officials are involved in an array of other important and controversial elements of the American response to the Israeli-Palestinian violence.
On Wednesday, the U.S. mission to the United Nations ― a State office ― vetoed a U.N. resolution backed by many countries that condemned all violence against civilians, including by Hamas, and endorsed humanitarian aid for Gaza. State will also help administer the additional military aid for Israel and humanitarian assistance for Palestinians that Biden has authorized.
State Department staff are trying to simultaneously conduct delicate diplomacy, respond to calls from Congress to demonstrate huge support for Israel and regard for Palestinian lives, and manage global outrage over the impression that the U.S. is providing cover for excessive Israeli force.
Counterparts in Arab governments are telling State Department officials the U.S. is at risk of losing support in their region for a generation, a U.S. official told HuffPost.
It’s unclear whether Blinken — who returned to Washington on Wednesday after a five-day trip across the Middle East, during which he met with officials in seven countries — understands the crisis of morale in his department. …
Senior State Department officials have privately discouraged the agency from using three specific phrases in public statements, HuffPost revealed last week: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm.” …
Multiple officials said they have heard colleagues talk about quitting as Paul did. …
The severity of the language in the dissent cable, and the number of State Department officials who sign it, will offer a picture of how alarmed staffers are at America’s response to the situation in Gaza and how broad the disagreement with Biden’s policy is ― and could determine whether it actually inspires a change in course.
Such cables often attract dozens or even hundreds of signatures, and the dissent channel is seen as a vital way to elevate opposing views without fear of retaliation because State’s policies bar retaliation against those who use it. …
Staff across the Biden administration have told HuffPost they are experiencing a chilling effect at work. One person said there was “a culture of silence” around expressing their views on Israel-Palestine, and another said they felt “shame” at working within the U.S. government at this moment. …
What do you think of the situation in the State Department? Share your thoughts, prayers, and scriptures below.
(Excerpt from HuffPost. Photo Credit: Alex Edelman-Pool/Getty Images)
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Our heavenly Father/Creator of the entire universe will take care of HIS children. We must unite as HIS family and PRAY for HIS WiLL.
This is nothing new. Many in the State Department opposed Israel in 1948 and that has not changed 75 years later.
Please LORD GOD ALMIGHTY rid the American
deep state bureaucracy of all those who would seek to violate any of the statements found in YOUR BOOK
Thank you HOLYSPIRIT
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Colossians 2:9 For in Him [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
division: disunity…chism…strife…war
Psalm 103 “Bless the LORD, O My Soul” https://biblehub.com/psalms/103-17.htm
Dear Heavenly Father, You are Almighty. You are The Triune God of Unity. I believe there are more divisions in Israel and America than we are aware. But You know every strategy, every plan and every heart conceiving harm. I pray as You continue to expose, You will also remove. For every plan of the enemy to loose confusion or chaos, I pray You will bind. We are not at the mercy of the enemy, we are privileged to be living in the mercy of the Everlasting. From eternity to eternity Your faithful love is toward those who fear You, and Your righteousness toward our grandchildren.
20Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.
21Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.
22Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His Dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
…. and ALL that is within me, bless His Holy Name.
Amen