Second Biden official resigns over Israel-Hamas war concerns

A senior Biden education adviser on Wednesday became the second administration official to resign from his post over the White House’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, the latest instance of internal turmoil over the war.

In a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Tariq Habash, a policy adviser in the department's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, accused the U.S. of endangering Palestinians and accused the Israeli government of ethnic cleansing.

“I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government,” Habash wrote.

Since the Hamas militant group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, several letters have been sent from Biden administration officials and campaign staffers — many signed anonymously — urging the president to reconsider his unfettered support for Israel. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the attack, while some 22,000 Palestinians have been killed amid Israel's retaliation, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

In October, Josh Paul, a State Department official involved with transferring arms to key American allies, resigned from his post because of what he called “shortsighted decisions” by the Biden administration in providing military assistance to Israel. In an interview with POLITICO after his resignation, Paul said controversial arms transfers are normally hashed out intensively, often over long periods of time.

"There just wasn’t any space for that sort of discussion. I attempted it on a number of occasions, in emails and conversations and discussions and meetings. But there was no response," he said at the time.

A month later, more than 500 Biden administration officials anonymously signed an open letter urging Biden to call for a cease-fire. On Wednesday, 17 current Biden campaign staffers anonymously called on the president to push for a permanent cease-fire in the monthslong conflict.

Habash, who is Palestinian American, cited the nationwide turmoil on college campuses following the attacks. The Education Department must protect all students who wish to protest the war, he said, noting the “alarming” violence against Palestinian and Muslim Americans since the war broke out.

“Simply put, criticism of the Israeli government, and its violations of international humanitarian law, is not antisemitic,” he wrote. “Claims that conflate criticism of Israel’s government with antisemitism only seek to silence dissent against a foreign government.”

Speaking with CNN Wednesday night, Habash called Biden’s refusal to call for a cease-fire “untenable with the belief by millions of Americans across this country.”

A spokesperson from the Education Department told POLITICO in a statement that they “wish him the best in his future endeavors.”