TEHRAN- The administration of US President Joe Biden has faced growing domestic and international criticism for its continued backing of Israel against the backdrop of the regime’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.

Since Israel launched war on Gaza on October 7, people across the world have either held protests or used social media to vent their anger at Washington’s support for the onslaught. 

Over the past nine months, the White House has continued military support for Israel and vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions condemning Israel's actions in the conflict.

Criticism of the US policy in support of Israel is also widespread and multifaceted inside the country.  

Many Americans, including liberal and progressive groups, religious leaders and politicians have expressed concerns about the disproportionate financial and military aid provided to the Israeli regime. 

Others have also questioned the alignment of US foreign policy with Israel's goals, which they see as favoring the regime’s interests over Palestinian rights and human rights. Such criticisms have led to calls for re-evaluating the relationship between Tel Aviv and Washington.  

Over the past months people have held protests in US cities and students have set up encampments on college campuses. They have demanded that the US stop arming Israel and educational institutes divest from companies that benefit from the regime’s war on Gaza. 

Official exodus 

In addition, a dozen American officials have resigned since October 7 over the US support for Israel. Maryam Hassanein, who worked as a special assistant at the Department of the Interior, was the latest appointee in the Biden administration who stepped down on Tuesday. 

In a statement, she said, "I am resigning today from my position as a Biden administration appointee in the Department of the Interior. As a Muslim American, I cannot continue working for an administration that ignores the voices of its diverse staff by continuing to fund and enable Israel's genocide of Palestinians."

US failed policy 

The 12 former officials issued a joint letter on Tuesday accusing Washington of complicity in the Gaza war. 

“America’s diplomatic cover for, and continuous flow of arms to, Israel has ensured our undeniable complicity in the killings and forced starvation of a besieged Palestinian population in Gaza,” the former officials said in the statement.

The signatories called the White House policy on Israel’s war on Gaza “a failure and a threat to US national security”.

They warned that Washington’s bias in favor of Israel makes the US a target. 

“This is not only morally reprehensible and in clear violation of international humanitarian law and US laws, but it has also put a target on America’s back.”

Political quagmire 

The statement admitted that the Gaza war has deepened Israel’s international isolation.  

“Rather than using our immense leverage to establish guardrails that can guide Israel towards a lasting and just peace, we have facilitated its self-destructive actions that have deepened its political quagmire and contributed to its enduring global isolation,” it pointed out. 

The ex-government officials demanded that the White House use its “necessary and available leverage” to bring the war to an end and to ensure the release of Israeli captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. 

America’s double-standards 

They also brought the US double-standard policy to light in the wake of Washington’s approach toward the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

They said the US policy regarding West Asia has damaged the “credibility of US values” as Washington condemns Russia’s war on Ukraine while “unconditionally arming and excusing Israel’s”.

Generational gap

Former members of the State Department, Education Department, Interior Department, and the military are among those who signed the statement. 

The resignation of the 12 officials, including 24-year-old Hassanein, and their scathing statement have highlighted a generational divide on Israel in the United States amid university student protests. 

This gap has shed light on the fact that younger Americans are generally more supportive of Palestinians than the generations that came before them. The college campus protests in the US which have spilled over to Canada, Europe, Australia and beyond clearly show that young people are fed up with pro-Israel policies of American politicians. 

Nonetheless, the US establishment, in particular 81-year-old Democratic President Joe Biden is looking the other way as Israel is slaughtering Palestinians in Gaza.