US Education Official Resigns Over Biden's Israel-Gaza Policy

JAN 4 2024·Updated AUG 27

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The Facts

Tariq Habash, a special assistant within the US Department of Education's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, resigned Wednesday over his opposition to the Biden administration's policies on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Middle East Monitor
Posting his resignation letter on X, formerly known as Twitter, Habash — a Palestinian-American — claimed the "actions of the Biden-Harris Administration have put millions of innocent lives in danger," while he also alleged the White House does "not value all life equally."
X
Habash also accused the administration of turning “a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives" and criticized previous remarks from Pres. Joe Biden that questioned Palestinian-recorded death count statistics.
X
Habash called on the Department of Education to support the First Amendment right to "express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza" while reaffirming both antisemitism and Islamophobia as "abhorrent." Habash concluded his letter by calling his time working with "compassionate individuals" within the federal government a "privilege."
X
Speaking at a US State Department press briefing the same day, spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US supports Israel's right to "carry out legitimate counterterrorism operations" but to do so "in full compliance with international humanitarian law."
US Department of War
According to data from the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health from Jan. 2, approximately 22.4K Palestinians have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel — during which approximately 1.2K were killed, as per Israeli statistics.
Reuters

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The Spin

Pro-Palestine narrative

This is the second resignation by a Biden administration official because of the president's increasingly unpopular support of a continued humanitarian crisis in Gaza, echoing the opinion of much of the international community. As it doubles down on its policies by fast-tracking military shipments to Israel, the US will continue to face an increase in domestic and global criticism.

Middle East Eye

Pro-Israel narrative

A White House-influenced decrease in air strikes and military force reduces civilian casualties but also allows Hamas the chance to continue to live on and plot future attacks on Israel. The Biden administration must recognize this and resist criticism from international Hamas sympathizers that might put Israel at a disadvantage.

The Jerusalem Post