President Biden Faces Challenges in Addressing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
President Joe Biden departed for Israel on Tuesday evening on a high-stakes diplomatic visit amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that has killed more than 4,000 people so far. As Biden grapples with the crisis, several U.S. officials told Agency it has become difficult to have a full debate within his administration about what’s happening in Israel-Palestine ― and in particular that people who want to talk about Israeli restraint or humanitarian protections for Palestinians feel stifled.
Fear of Retaliation and Stifled Debate
Several staffers across multiple agencies, most of whom work on national security issues, told Agency they and their colleagues worry about retaliation at work for questioning Israel’s conduct amid the U.S.-backed Israeli campaign to avenge an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, that killed more than 1,400 Israelis. The fear is especially intense among staffers with Muslim backgrounds. On Sunday, presidential personnel office chief Gautam Raghavan organized a call with close to a dozen current and former high-level Muslim appointees to discuss their concerns. Some staffers said they felt unsafe voicing their opinions around colleagues, according to a person on the call, which has not been previously reported.
Predictions of the Toll of Israel’s Operation in Gaza
And officials tracking the escalating fighting are quietly sharing dark predictions about the ultimate toll of Israel’s operation in Gaza, Hamas’s base, along with pessimism about their ability to influence the situation and Biden’s commitment to reducing tensions.
A Culture of Silence
The period since the Hamas attack represents “the first time in the administration that there was a real culture of silence,” one official said. “It feels like post-9/11 where you feel like your thoughts are being policed, and you’re really afraid of being seen as anti-American or an anti-Semite.”
Diversity and Inclusion Challenges
In a region where America’s traditional foreign policy-making processes have so far yielded dubious results, some officials say the administration is now falling back into bad old habits rather than taking advantage of the personnel it recruited.
White House Efforts to Address Concerns
White House officials say the Biden administration is making a concerted effort to elicit a range of views from officials on Israel-Palestine. In the coming days, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients plans to hold a “listening session with Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian staff to hear from them directly,” as well as ask Cabinet secretaries to do so at their own agencies, a White House official told Agency via email. Zients has also overseen a “thorough internal and external outreach strategy to Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American communities,” the official added.
The Need for Inclusive Decision-Making
But with many Biden staffers already deeply demoralized, that outreach could be perceived as window dressing if there’s little proof it creates a more inclusive decision-making process.
A Distorted Debate
One official described the first few days of the current crisis as “extremely hard.” The Biden administration launched a strategy focused on showing solidarity for Israel ― while the country pummeled residential neighborhoods in Gaza and cut off electricity and water supplies for the region. U.S. government agencies tackling a flare-up abroad normally develop a step-by-step plan to support American partners, the official said.
Little Interest in Perspectives That Are Not Primarily About Israel’s Losses
Some officials said they felt there was little interest in perspectives that were not primarily about Israel’s losses. One pointed to an internal White House message from Zients after the Hamas attack that expressed solidarity with Jewish staff and those with Israeli ties but did not mention how Israel’s response was affecting Gazans. Another cited the State Department’s internal counseling program for employees affected by the situation, which referenced Israel but not the occupied Palestinian territories. On Friday, Agency revealed that State Department officials discouraged their colleagues from using phrases suggesting Israeli restraint in public statements.
Perceived Lack of Genuine Support
Officials told Agency that some staffers did not feel the administration’s stated support for people on both sides was genuine. A White House official noted that on Sunday, after the Islamophobia-inspired murder of a child in Illinois, Zients emailed all White House staff condemning the “the horrific act of hate” and adding: “The events of the last week have been challenging for all of us ― and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how difficult it has been for our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American colleagues ― in addition to our Jewish colleagues.” U.S. officials, including Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also publicly mentioned humanitarian concerns in Gaza with increasing frequency over the past week and repeatedly said they expect Israel to abide by the laws of war in its campaign against Hamas.
Conclusion
Despite these efforts, some officials believe that the Biden administration needs to do more to create an inclusive decision-making process that takes into account a wider range of perspectives. As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to escalate, the need for open and honest dialogue within the administration becomes even more crucial.
