State Department Official Quits in Protest of Arms Supply to Israel
‘MORAL COMPROMISES’
“I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued — indeed, expanded and expedited — provision of lethal arms to Israel — I have reached the end,” he wrote.
Amid the Israel-Hamas war, a U.S. State Department official with a key role in arms deals announced his resignation on Wednesday, citing “shortsighted, destructive, unjust, and contradictory” decisions by the Biden administration that forced him into countless “moral compromises.” As first reported by HuffPost, Josh Paul explained his decision in a LinkedIn post, writing, “I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued — indeed, expanded and expedited — provision of lethal arms to Israel — I have reached the end.” He called the administration’s response “an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia.” Paul worked for more than 11 years in the department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which oversees weapons trades with other countries. A State Department spokesperson did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
