‘I resigned over President’s ‘endorsement of genocide’ in Gaza’ – Jewish-American Biden appointee
31 May 2024 | News | Israel War on Gaza| Source: MEMO
Lily Greenberg Call, a former Jewish-American employee appointed by President Joe Biden to the US Interior Department who resigned earlier this month, said she resigned because of the President’s “endorsement of genocide” in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports.
“Last week, I resigned from my post at the United States Department of the Interior, becoming the first Jewish politically appointed administration official to publicly resign in protest – and in mourning – of President Biden’s endorsement of genocide in Gaza, where more than 35,000 Palestinians have been murdered,” Call said in an opinion piece published by The Guardian on Tuesday.
“The President (Biden) has weaponised the idea of Jewish safety to justify the atrocity in Gaza,” she added.
Stressing that it was a “difficult” but “necessary” decision, she maintained: “The President of the United States has persistently corrupted the idea of Jewish safety, weaponising my community as a shield to dodge accountability for his role in this atrocity.”
Emphasising that she descends from one of those Jewish-Americans who escaped Europe and “survived violent persecution”, Call said she feels “the weight of this history every day”.
She added: “I have watched as Palestinians struggle to survive the indiscriminate bombing that has plagued their home – a bombing bought and paid for by the United States.
“Children live-streaming on social media have been forced to step into the shoes of absent journalists, many murdered in this conflict, which has become the deadliest for journalists on record. I’ve seen countless videos of families fleeing falling bombs, children wailing at the loss of their mothers and refugees now cowering in Rafah.”
Call said that she knows “what it means to fear the rising surge of anti-Semitism,” adding: “But I am certain that Jews are not better protected by a war effort, endorsed by the United States and waged in the name of Jewish safety, that furthers a genocide of a whole people collectively framed as ‘our enemy’. In fact, making Jews the face of an unrelenting, genocidal campaign only puts us at risk even more.”
Stressing that the safety of the Palestinians and Israelis are not “oppositional,” she said: “In fact, they are deeply intertwined. President Biden does not recognise this.”
Biden ‘refused to call for ceasefire’
Call noted that Biden “refuses to call for a lasting and permanent ceasefire, end the blank check offered to Israel, secure a diplomatic release of the Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.”
“That is why, at this moment, my former boss is the person who makes me feel most unsafe as an American Jew,” she added.
Emphasising that she sees, each day, images of those displaced in Gaza, she said: “I am reminded of my own family’s memory of loved ones killed in the Shoah – which, in turn, reminds me of the Nakba: the tragedy that occurred in 1948 when Palestinian society was destroyed and an estimated 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homeland for the formation of today’s modern Israel.”
Call stressed that she resigned from her post on 15 May – the 76th anniversary of Nakba – as she “could no longer serve at the pleasure of a President who refuses to stop another catastrophe.”
Shoah is the Hebrew term for the Holocaust while Nakba refers to the mass displacement of the Palestinians associated with the establishment of Israel. They both mean “catastrophe.”
More than 36,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 81,700 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in Israel’s onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
The attacks have pushed 85 per cent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which, in January, issued an interim ruling that ordered it to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Latest
Join us in raising awareness and inspiring solidarity for Palestine through art and community engagement.
“The homeland is stuck in our teeth. It’s filling our cavities. It rests on our tongues. My God. How we yearn for its olive trees. How it haunts our dreams.”
― Noor Hindi, Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow.
Thank you for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such great information being shared freely out there.
Hi there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
Admiring the commitment you put into your website and detailed information you offer. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted rehashed information. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
I believe you have remarked some very interesting points, regards for the post.
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the internet. Shame on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch since I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!
Just wanna admit that this is very helpful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your article seem to be running off the screen in Ie. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Many thanks
I am constantly searching online for articles that can benefit me. Thanks!
Very well written article. It will be helpful to anyone who utilizes it, as well as myself. Keep doing what you are doing – looking forward to more posts.
My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content in your case? I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write regarding here. Again, awesome blog!
I reckon something really special in this site.
What i don’t understood is in fact how you are not actually a lot more well-preferred than you might be right now. You are so intelligent. You know therefore considerably with regards to this matter, produced me in my view imagine it from numerous numerous angles. Its like men and women are not fascinated unless it’s one thing to do with Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs nice. All the time handle it up!
I’m still learning from you, as I’m making my way to the top as well. I absolutely enjoy reading all that is written on your blog.Keep the tips coming. I loved it!
A person essentially help to make seriously posts I would state. This is the first time I frequented your website page and thus far? I surprised with the research you made to make this particular publish extraordinary. Great job!
Thanks for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research on this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I am very glad to see such great info being shared freely out there.