ⱤᎮᎶ𝔩๏𝖗𝕪

ALT May 15, 2024 Dear Secretary Haaland, I joined the Biden Administration because I believe in fighting for a better America, for a future where Americans can thrive: one with economic prosperity, a healthy planet, and equal rights for all people. I have dedicated my career to candidates who I believed would further this vision. I worked for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in 2019, and then moved to Arizona to work for President Biden’s campaign in 2020. I was thrilled to join the Department of Interior because I was inspired by your principled track record of championing progressive causes, in addition to your role as an Indigenous woman leading a Department that historically harmed Indigenous communities, and the potential that it has for reparations, reconciliation, and healing. However, I can no longer in good conscience continue to represent this administration amidst President Biden’s disastrous, continued support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. <continued>

ALT They changed their names at Ellis Island & worked as farmers, peddlers, & salespeople. My grandparents could not go to college. Two generations later, I have the honor of working as an appointee for the President of the United States. The weight of this position is not lost on me. This is the story of many people in my community: a story of survival, upward mobility, & fulfillment of the American Dream. And yet, I have asked myself many times over the last eight months: what is the point of having power if you will not use it to stop crimes against humanity? My whole life has been spent in Jewish community in the US & Israel. I have spent time in Israel/Palestine, & I learned Hebrew and Arabic both formally in school & through connection in community. I have family & friends who are Israeli, Palestinian — & have loved ones who have served in the IDF. People in my community lost loved ones during Hamas’s attack on October 7th; beloveds killed, displaced, & taken as hostages. <continued

ALT I am terrified by rising antisemitism around the world. And yet I am certain that the answer to this is not to collectively punish millions of innocent Palestinians through displacement, famine, and ethnic cleansing. Israel’s ongoing offensive against Palestinians does not keep Jewish people safe — in Israel nor in the United States. What I have learned from my Jewish tradition is that every life is precious. That we are obligated to stand up for those facing violence and oppression, & to question authority in the face of injustice. Israel has killed over 35,000 people in Gaza, including 15,000 children. The Israeli military has bombed medical infrastructure, besieged a hospital, left mass graves behind, destroyed every university in Gaza, targeted journalists & aid workers, and committed many, many inexcusable atrocities. These are all violations of international law, none of which would be possible without American weapons, & none of which have been condemned by President Biden.

ALT The President has the power to call for a lasting ceasefire, to stop sending weapons to Israel, & to condition aid. The U.S. has used nearly no leverage throughout the last 8 months to hold Israel accountable; quite the opposite, we have enabled & legitimized Israel’s actions with vetoes of UN resolutions designed to hold Israel accountable. President Biden has the blood of innocent people on his hands. The U.S. has long enabled Israeli war crimes & the status quo of apartheid and occupation. That status quo does not keep Israelis safe, nor Jews around the world. It certainly does not protect Palestinians, who have the right to freedom, safety, self-determination, & dignity, just as much as Jewish people do, & every person does. Any system that requires the subjugation of one group over another is not only unjust, but unsafe. Jewish safety cannot — & will not — come at the expense of Palestinian freedom. Making Jews the face of the American war machine makes us less safe. <ctd>