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As protests against the U.S. policy in Gaza unfold on college campuses across the country, the State Department is facing its own protests too.
An Arabic-speaking public affairs official has just resigned over the Biden administration’s approach to the war in Gaza, making her the third such public resignation.
Her name is Hala Rharrit and she’s been with the State Department for 18 years, most recently as deputy director of the Dubai media hub.
Rharrit spoke with All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly on Monday about why the says the policy is hurting U.S. interests, how she experienced “a lot of silencing” when she spoke out, and what she wants to say to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Mary Louise Kelly: Tell me when you started thinking about resigning?
Hala Rharrit: Well, honestly, it was quite a long process. I’ve been a diplomat for 18 years, really my entire adult life. But the policy really became unacceptable. I was holding out, hoping to try to change things from the inside until I realized at one point that this policy was undermining U.S. interests, it was destabilizing the Middle East, and it was indeed a failed policy. And with that, I decided that I could no longer be part of the department and decided to submit my resignation.
Kelly: Was there a specific moment? I mean, what was your breaking point?
Rharrit: There was no real specific moment, it was just a build-up. We were undermining our entire credibility with this policy. The double standards that we were having, we could no longer talk about human rights when we were in allowing and enabling the mass killing of civilians. We could no longer talk about press freedom when we remain silent on the killing of over 100 journalists in Gaza. Everything that we had stood for was no longer relevant. I did experience a lot of silencing. I was ostracized. And it came to a point where I decided it was not possible anymore.
Kelly: You said you had been hoping to try to change things from inside. Did you write a dissent cable? Did you try to go through official channels to register your unhappiness with U.S. policy?
Rharrit: I absolutely went through official channels to express my dissent. I wrote daily reports back to the department initially after the conflict for months explaining and reporting and documenting how the U.S. was being seen on pan-Arab media,…
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