Since the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas, President Joe Biden has pledged unwavering support of Israel from the United States. On Thursday, in a televised address to the nation, Biden stated that he planned to ask Congress for $100 billion to fight Hamas, with some of that also going to the war in Ukraine and $14 billion more for Israel. But when left-leaning administrations are in charge, and they hire other left-leaning people to staff their departments and agencies, they run the risk of hiring those who are even further left than those in charge. It has surely happened within the Biden administration, but now, it appears that there are a lot of unhappy leftist campers in the State Department. 

The State Department is hot garbage, so we can only hope and pray that they all quit https://t.co/stjRwVHaqC

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 20, 2023

There are reports of increased frustration among State Department staff over the Biden administration's U.S. policy on Israel. They also feel as though Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his senior advisors are putting more emphasis on Israel and the fight with Hamas and not enough focus on aid to innocent Palestinians living in Gaza. Dissent among State Department staff comes in the wake of the resignation of Joshua Paul, director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Paul cited the reason for his resignation as the U.S. sending arms and ammunition to Israel and what he perceived as “blind support for one side." But it appears now that Paul's exit may be just the beginning.

Matthew Miller is a State Department spokesman. He stated:

“Secretary Blinken has spoken to this on a number of occasions, when he’s said that he welcomes people exercising the dissent channel. He finds it useful to get conflicting voices that may differ from his opinion. He takes it seriously, and it causes him to reflect on his own thinking in terms of policymaking.”

But State Department staff are not feeling the "everybody's opinion counts" love from Antony Blinken. Many have described a "chilling" work environment and a "culture of silence" around discussing any views about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Some are described as “depressed and angry about it all," others are feeling "resignation." One staffer was reportedly "in tears" after a meeting discussing that staffer's view “that U.S. policy statements emphasized support for Israel over the lives of Palestinians.” Staff has also been discouraged from using phrases like "de-escalation/ceasefire," "end to violence/bloodshed," and "restoring calm." Some have also been heard talking about following Paul and heading for the exit. Several staffers are placing blame for the unhealthy work environment at the feet of Blinken's deputy chief of staff for policy, Tom Sullivan. You might have heard of his brother Jake, who happens to be Joe Biden's national security advisor. Because of that, not many feel comfortable bringing up their concerns to him.

Career officers and bureaucrats at the State Department are not elected. Their job is to advance the Administration’s foreign policy agenda, not to subvert it by pursuing their own policy preferences. (That’s why I chose not to apply to be a foreign service officer, despite my…

— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) October 20, 2023

It seems a bit curious that so many State Department employees are so upset about the United States aiding Israel. The Israel-Hamas conflict will certainly leave people in need in both Israel and Gaza. But the reason for that began with the attack on Israel. There also seems to be a lack of understanding by many throughout the world that Israel needs to defend itself, and even more misunderstanding about what will happen if they do not. Or is it misunderstanding? What is in the hearts of upset State Department employees is unknown, but if they are champions of both Israelis and Palestinians, let's hope they are educated about all parties involved. 

As the U.S. deals with increasing unrest around the world, we can ill afford a State Department that is described this way by one employee, “There’s basically a mutiny brewing within State at all levels." Whatever the reasons for the mutiny are, we should know what "side" the staff of the department charged with the nation's diplomacy is taking. 

That is State Department on any given day since forever, actually.

But the interesting thing in this article is that the cause of the angst is the staff’s perception that Biden & Blinken are favoring Israel too much. https://t.co/uQOAZTnphz

— Leslie McAdoo Gordon 🇺🇸 (@McAdooGordon) October 20, 2023