More than 500 former Biden campaign staffers urged US President Joe Biden to press for a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
The demand was made through a letter published online and signed by former employees of Biden’s 2020 campaign, as well as the Democratic National Committee and state-level Democratic Party organizations. Some staffers signed with only their first names or initials out of apparent fear of retribution for criticizing Israeli policy.
“We were and continue to be horrified by the devastating Hamas attack against Israeli civilians on October 7,” wrote the group of staffers, calling themselves Biden Alumni for Peace and Justice.
“Yet, in this moment of pain, we cannot condemn violence and the murder of some civilians while simultaneously justifying and enabling it for others. Right now, the world is watching in grief and anguish as the Israeli military wields devastating force upon 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza.”
“You must call for a ceasefire, hostage exchange, and de-escalation, and take concrete steps to address the conditions of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing at the root of the horrific violence we are witnessing now,” urged the group.
The letter comes as Biden has rejected activists’ calls for a ceasefire in hostilities even as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets across the country.
The Biden administration has instead floated a brief “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s assault to allow aid to enter Gaza or permit civilians to leave the enclave. Some have warned that relocation of Palestinian civilians could serve as an excuse for Israeli settlers to claim the territory after leaked analysis from Israeli intelligence suggested an opportunity for Israel to annex the narrow strip of land.
“In one month, Israeli forces have killed over 10,000 Palestinians and displaced 1.4 million people from their homes,” the letter continues. “Over 800 scholars and practitioners of conflict studies, international law, and genocide studies have warned that Israel’s actions in Gaza may constitute genocide.”
“Save the Children estimates that Israel’s bombardment is killing one child in Gaza every 15 minutes. Mr. President, you have spoken intimately about the unbearable pain and grief of losing a child – we were shocked and saddened to see you justify the death of Palestinian children as ‘the price of waging a war.’”
Concern has grown among Democrats in recent weeks that Biden’s support for Israel could damage prospects for his 2024 reelection. Young Americans, an important constituency of the Democratic Party, increasingly support the Palestinian cause. But Biden has been a decadeslong supporter of Israel, even famously calling himself a “Zionist,” referring to the ideology that led to the creation of a Jewish state in present-day Israel in 1948.
A decline in consumption of legacy media and increased use of social media has provided younger Americans with alternate perspectives regarding the long-running Palestine-Israel conflict. Prominent online personalities like civil rights activist Shaun King have expressed sharp criticism of Israel amidst the Middle Eastern country’s military campaign.
King, along with podcast host Jackson Hinkle, is one of a number of influencers sharing video recorded on the ground in Gaza, helping to humanize Palestinians and relate the depth of suffering experienced there as at least 5,000 children have died in Israel’s aerial assaults. The proliferation of pro-Palestinian voices online became a subject during Wednesday night’s GOP primary debate as Republican candidates advocated the banning of social media platform TikTok for its alleged spreading of anti-Israel perspectives.