In a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Habash expressed, “I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government.”
Tariq Habash, a senior official in the US Education Department and special assistant in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, stepped down on Jan. 3, citing dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.
Calls for ceasefire
Additionally, on Jan. 3, 17 staffers from President Biden’s re-election campaign issued an anonymous letter, warning that Biden’s handling of the conflict could result in a loss of voters.
In a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Habash expressed, “I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government.”
Habash, a Palestinian-American and an expert on student debt, was appointed early in Biden’s presidency as part of an effort to strengthen the Education Department’s expertise on student loans.
In their anonymous letter published on Medium, the 17 Biden re-election campaign staffers urged President Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, highlighting the impact on campaign volunteers and traditional Democratic voters who feel uncertain about supporting the party due to the conflict.
Rejecting genocide
President Biden’s campaign did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, on Jan. 3, stated that the US has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide, responding to South Africa’s proceedings at the International Court of Justice over Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Israel has also rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza.
Josh Paul, a former State Department official, resigned from the Biden administration in October, expressing his protest against what he deemed the administration’s “blind support” for Israel.
In November 2023, over 1,000 officials in the U.S. Agency for International Development, a part of the State Department, signed an open letter, calling on the Biden administration to advocate for an immediate ceasefire.
Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies, resulted in the death of 1,200 people and the taking of 240 hostages back to Gaza. The Gaza health ministry reported a total recorded Palestinian death toll from Israel’s retaliatory offensive reaching 22,313 by Wednesday, constituting almost one percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.
Conflict affecting US colleges
The Israel-Hamas conflict has reverberated across U.S. college campuses, igniting tensions between student groups and university leaders. This clash of perspectives has brought long-simmering disagreements between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian organizations to the forefront, with consequences that extend far beyond campus boundaries.
Holding Israel entirely responsible
Student groups critical of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians wasted no time in expressing their views.
More than 30 Harvard University student groups recently signed a joint statement holding Israel entirely responsible for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. This statement has ignited a significant debate not only within the Harvard community but also in the broader context of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The communication, titled “Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine,” unequivocally places blame on Israel for the Israel-Hamas war. The student organizations argue that the recent Hamas attack on Israel did not occur in isolation but was a result of decades of Palestinian suffering in the Gaza Strip.
They point to the dire living conditions in Gaza, which they describe as an “open-air prison,” and accuse Israel of implementing an apartheid regime that has systematically oppressed Palestinians for 75 years.
