A third Biden political appointee, this time from the Department of the Interior, has resigned in protest of U.S. support for Israel.
Maryam Hassanein, a former special assistant, said that she was inspired to quit by the protests on college campuses.
Hassanein announced her resignation in a post on X, accompanied by a lengthy statement explaining her decision.
She wrote that "as a Muslim American, I cannot continue working for an administration that ignores the voices of its diverse staff by continuing to fund and enable Israel's genocide of Palestinians." Today, I resigned from the Biden administration, and this is my statement. pic.twitter.com/geLibpIT8H
— Maryam Hassanein (@mm_hassanein) July 2, 2024
“When my family and I, alongside other Muslims and Arab Americans, turned up to vote for President Biden in 2020, it was because the Biden campaign promised justice. That promise and faith in the administration has been shattered,” she wrote.
Hassanein continued, "Let me be clear: We should all be horrified by Israel's genocide in Gaza. While my background played a role in my decision to resign, people from all different walks of life and in various facets of the executive branch recognize the wrongdoing, the deep injustice, and the grave horrors our government is helping to carry out. Even if we are not the ones shaping the policy, our very being here, especially as Biden-Harris appointees, makes us complicit as we allow things to continue running as normal when this genocide is anything but normal."
The Hill noted, "Lily Greenberg Call, another political appointee in the Department of Interior, resigned in May, while Tariq Habash, a Palestinian-American, resigned from his position at the Department of Education in January."
In November, Pentagon intelligence officer Maj. Harrison Mann resigned in protest.
Mann posted his resignation letter online in May, which stated he was leaving the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) over its unqualified support for Israel, which he said has “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians.
In October, Josh Paul, a State Department official, resigned over President Joe Biden's announcement of material support for Israel. A must read.
My former colleague Josh Paul resigned today from the @StateDept office that approves arms transfers because of the Biden admin's decision to rush arms to Israel.
I have deep respect for Josh and I know he did not take this decision lightly.
Read his letter. pic.twitter.com/6hkoU2AsN4
— Brian Finucane (@BCFinucane) October 18, 2023
"Today, I informed my colleagues that I have resigned from the State Department due to a policy disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel," Paul wrote.We cannot be both against occupation and for it. We cannot be both for freedom and against it. And we cannot be for a better world while contributing to one that is materially worse.
Paul explained that he does not believe that the US should take a side in the conflict, especially given that Israel has committed "gross violations of human rights."
