WASHINGTON —
Feds United for Peace group, consisting of dozens of US government employees
across nearly two dozen agencies, plan to walk off the job Tuesday to protest
the Biden administration’s handling of the
Israeli war on the
Gaza Strip,
Al-Monitor reported.
اضافة اعلان
The group’s
organizers, who requested anonymity, will be observing a “Day of Mourning” to
mark 100 days of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, expecting “easily
hundreds” of others to join in their walkout after securing commitments from
individuals at 22 federal agencies.
According to a
list obtained by Al-Monitor, those include the Executive Office of the
President, the National Security Agency, the Departments of State, Defense,
Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, as well as,
US Citizenship and
Immigration Services and the Naval Research Laboratory.
The planned
walkout is a reflection of mounting anger among US officials over the Biden
administration’s refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in the strip.
Furthermore,
several letters criticizing the administration’s policy have been composed
through the State Department’s private “dissent channel,” originally
established during the
Vietnam War. Unidentified staffers from President Joe
Biden’s re-election campaign also wrote an open letter warning that his policy
on Israel’s war on the strip could result in a loss of voter support.
One of the
organizers said that rather than quitting, they felt a moral obligation to
influence change from the inside, blaming the White House for certain policy
decisions; such as the obstruction of ceasefire resolutions at the UN and
weapons sales to Israel that have bypassed Congress.
They said,
“It’s one thing to write letters from within, but when policy discussions and
dissent cables yield no shift in policy — and in some views, a double down on
that policy — then people feel they have no other option because they’re not
being heard.”
According to
Al-Monitor,
Biden administration officials have tried to address the internal
frustrations, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in listening
sessions with Arab American, Muslim, and Jewish staffers. Additionally, other
senior State Department and White House officials have since held similar
meetings with staff members.
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