A coalition of former civil servants who worked in the Biden administration and resigned over Gaza genocide has called on candidates for the 2028 US presidential election to pledge that they will bar any former officials responsible for enabling Israel's genocide from serving in future administrations.
In an open letter on Wednesday, they urged prospective contenders to sign an explicit commitment refusing to hire, promote, or appoint any political appointees who acted as architects, defenders, or key enablers of unconditional military and diplomatic support for Israel in its genocide of Palestinians.
"Senior Biden administration officials who were architects of the Gaza policy are now actively white-washing their own roles in enabling genocide," the letter said, accusing the US officials of violating US and international law by providing American weapons to Israel in the latter’s indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in Gaza.
"The result: tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed; the remaining population was deliberately starved and displaced; and the entire territory was decimated. When faced with the opportunity to stand up in defense of our laws, they not only stayed silent, but worked resolutely in pursuit of illegal and wrongful ends in violation of both US and international law," it added.
The letter highlighted that internal warnings from thousands of US civil servants began as early as October 2023, urging the Biden administration to abide by federal statutes governing arms transfers and to call for an immediate ceasefire.
"The senior officials who turned a blind eye to the facts, lied to the American public, actively repressed internal dissent, and enabled America’s material support for Israel’s genocide have no business holding positions of influence in any future administration. They should not be welcomed in any institution from which they may exert influence over the formulation of foreign policy, or the education of America’s next generation of leaders," the former officials demanded.
The letter comes as a new UN inquiry says Israel has committed the crime against humanity of "extermination" in the occupied West Bank, while continuing to commit "genocide" against Palestinians in besieged Gaza despite US-brokered truce.
The commission said that Israel had committed "genocide" in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu incited these acts.
Since 2023, Israel's military has uprooted nearly the entire population of Gaza and killed more than 74,200 people in its genocide, according to Gaza's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
However, experts and studies indicate that the death toll is an undercount, with the actual figure potentially reaching 200,000 in Gaza, 60 percent of which remains under Israeli occupation.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Washington allocates $3.8 billion in annual military funding to its long-standing ally Israel.
Since October 2023, the US has spent more than $22 billion supporting Israel's actions in Gaza and neighbouring countries.
Since 1946, the US has provided over $310 billion in military and economic assistance to Israel, adjusted for inflation, according to the American think tank, Council on Foreign Relations.
Acknowledge US complicity
Addressing the chronic absence of accountability within the foreign policy establishment, the signatories warned that many former officials are already positioning themselves to re-enter government institutions, policy think tanks, and academic bodies to shape future American diplomacy.
"We must ensure these officials can never again wield power in the name of the American people," the signatories demanded, calling on candidates for the 2028 presidential nomination to commit to not hire any administration official directly responsible for enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The proposed pledge requires aspiring presidential nominees to acknowledge Washington's complicity in facilitating civilian casualties through weapons supplies, diplomatic protection, and the suppression of debate, while ensuring that those directly responsible for enabling the genocide in Gaza are permanently excluded from future policymaking.
The signatories of the letter said they support ongoing efforts to identify officials from the former administration whose actions amount to complicity in violations of US and international law.
"We also expect that former officials who do not fit into this category, and who aspire to return to government, will be able to honestly account for their own roles in the administration's Gaza policy," they said.
The signatories of the letter include:
Josh Paul – Former US State Department official (resigned October 2023)
Tariq Habash – Former political appointee, US Department of Education (resigned January 2024)
Annelle Sheline – Former US State Department official (resigned March 2024)
Anna Del Castillo – Former White House official (resigned April 2024)
Hala Rharrit – Former US diplomat (resigned April 2024)
Harrison Mann – Former US Army officer and Defense Intelligence Agency official (resigned publicly May 2024; resigned internally November 2023)
Lily Greenberg Call – Former political appointee, US Department of the Interior (resigned May 2024)
Stacy Gilbert – Former senior civil-military officer, US Department of State (resigned May 2024)
Alexander Smith – Former senior adviser, USAID (resigned June 2024)
Riley Livermore – Former US Air Force major (resigned June 2024)
Mike Casey – Former US diplomat (resigned July 2024)
Hani Z. Nofal – Former US Navy lieutenant commander (resigned publicly August 2024; resigned internally November 2023)
