The special assistant to the chief of staff for the U.S. Interior Department became the first Jewish political appointee to publicly resign in response to the United State’s continued support of Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Lily Greenberg Call wrote a letter accusing the United States of “enabling Israeli war crimes and the status quo of an apartheid and occupation” and “making Jews the face of the American war machine.”
“Israel’s ongoing offensive against Palestinians does not keep Jewish people safe — in Israel, nor in the United States,” she wrote. “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, and to question authority in the face of injustice.”
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In her letter, Call also referenced that May 15 is Nakba Day, “which recognizes the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948 and the displacement of the majority of the Palestinian people for the formation of today’s modern Israel,” she wrote.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Call referenced Biden’s repeated use of the phrase, “Were there no Israel, no Jew in the world would be ultimately safe,” which has earned him some criticism.
“He is making Jews the face of the American war machine. And that is so deeply wrong,” Call said. She added that her own ancestors were killed by “state-sponsored violence.”
Call is the fifth mid- or senior-level administration staffer to quit in protest over the United States’ involvement in Israel’s military campaign.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration quietly notified Congress that it intends to move forward with a $1 billion weapons deal for Israel.
