Hala Rharrit on Quitting State Dept. & Ending U.S. Complicity in Gaza
www.democracynow.org
As human rights groups continue to call out war crimes committed by the Israeli military, we speak to the only U.S. diplomat to publicly resign from the Biden administration over its policy on Israel. We first spoke to Hala Rharrit when she resigned from the State Department in April, citing the illegal and deceptive nature of U.S. policy in the Middle East. “We continue to willfully violate laws so that we surge U.S. military assistance to Israel,” she says after more than a year of Israel’s war on Gaza. Rharrit says she found the Biden administration unmovable in its “counterproductive policy,” which she believes has gravely harmed U.S. interests in the Middle East. “We are going to feel the repercussions of that for years, decades, generations.”

As human rights groups continue to call out war crimes committed by the Israeli military, we speak to the only U.S. diplomat to publicly resign from the Biden administration over its policy on Israel.

We first spoke to Hala Rharrit when she resigned from the State Department in April, citing the illegal and deceptive nature of U.S. policy in the Middle East. “We continue to willfully violate laws so that we surge U.S. military assistance to Israel,” she says after more than a year of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Rharrit says she found the Biden administration unmovable in its “counterproductive policy,” which she believes has gravely harmed U.S. interests in the Middle East. “We are going to feel the repercussions of that for years, decades, generations.”

  • Pyflixia@kbin.melroy.org
    0·
    4 hours ago

    Oh, the Biden Administration did move all right. It moved backwards. All that the Biden Administration had to do was cease giving weapons. But they kept giving weapons. And doing stern finger pointing and wagging that did fuck all.

    US is just Israel’s bitch under the table.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
      0·
      3 hours ago

      this is one of the most ignorant comments I’ve ever read.

      you think that the US is under Israel’s thumb?

      you fundamentally misunderstand international power dynamics.

      “All that the Biden Administration had to do was cease giving weapon!”

      this would do nothing. Israel is supported by dozens of countries and has a huge stockpile from having been supported financially and materially for half a century.

      The US can influence Netanyahu and Israel, but this is a crime that has been perpetuated for 50 years that is still going on, recently ramped up to a concluding chapter, and the US does not control the idf or Netanyahu.

      that is a separate nation with ample resources that is making this decision to continue the genocide.

      and no, the Biden administration hasn’t moved “backward” with regard to israeli support, from full support they moved to warnings, after warnings they moved to sanctions, then Biden publicly stated that the US won’t continue to support Netanyahu in an indefinite war and met with his political adversary, now they’re threatening to cut weapon shipments if Israel continues bombing civilians and they’re calling for ceasefires.

      they’re moving way too slowly, but they aren’t moving backwards.

      • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
        0·
        50 minutes ago

        they’re moving way too slowly, but they aren’t moving backwards

        Name one single action they’re taken other than ask Israel nicely. You said sanctions but they never actually sanctioned anyone. And the threat you’re referring to was specifically stated to not be meant as a threat.

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
          0·
          3 hours ago

          “an armchair know-it-all here”

          …is that it?

          thanks!

          I don’t know it all, but I agree that my analysis of the situation was succinct and accurate.