By NYT

More than 500 political appointees and staff members representing some 40 government agencies sent a letter to US President Joe Biden on Tuesday protesting his support of the ‘Israeli’ entity in its war on Gaza.

The letter, part of growing internal dissent over the administration’s support of the war, calls on Biden to seek an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and to push ‘Israel’ to allow humanitarian aid into the territory. It is the latest of several protest letters from officials throughout the Biden administration, including three internal memos to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken signed by dozens of State Department employees as well as an open letter signed by more than 1,000 employees of the US Agency for International Development.

The signatories of the letter submitted on Tuesday and the one circulating among USAID employees are anonymous, the USAID letter explains, out of “concern for our personal safety and risk of potentially losing our jobs.” The signatories of the State Department dissent cables must disclose their names, but those cables have not been released publicly.

Although the Biden administration has recently started voicing concern over the high numbers of Palestinian civilians martyred while urging ‘Israel’ to show restraint, that budding criticism does not appear to be placating many in the US government.

The letter, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times, urged Biden to stop the bloodshed caused by ‘Israel’s’ military campaign in Gaza.

“We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the ‘Israeli’ ‘hostages’ and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the letter states.

Organizers continued to collect signatures even after the letter was delivered to Biden, and by Tuesday afternoon the letter had about 100 more names than the 402 with which it was formally submitted. The letter’s organizers said they intended to inform the White House daily of updated signature counts.

Two political appointees who helped organize the letter to Biden said the majority of the signatories are political appointees of various faiths who work throughout government, from the National Security Council to the FBI and the Justice Department.

Some of the signatories helped Biden get elected in 2020 and said in interviews they were concerned that the administration’s support of ‘Israel’s’ war in Gaza clashed with Democratic voters’ stance on the issue.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans support a cease-fire,” the letter states, linking to a poll from October that shows that 66 percent of Americans, including 80 percent of Democrats, believe the United States should put pressure on ‘Israel’ for a cease-fire.

“Furthermore, Americans do not want the US military to be drawn into another costly and senseless war in the Middle East.”

Some US officials said privately that while senior officials welcome disagreement, government workers must understand and accept that they will not always agree with US policy. The dissent over Gaza reflects a generational divide and comes mostly from employees in their 20s and 30s, the officials said — though many older people have also signed dissenting documents, according to people who have collected signatures.