U.S. diplomat tells NPR why she resigned in protest over Gaza policy: NPR

As protests against U.S. policy in Gaza unfold on college campuses across the country, the State Department is also facing protests of its own.

An Arabic-speaking public affairs official just resigned over the Biden administration’s approach to the war in Gaza, making it the third such public resignation.

Her name is Hala Rharrit and she has worked at the State Department for 18 years, most recently as deputy director of the Dubai media center.

Rharrit spoke with All things considered host Mary Louise Kelly on Monday about why she says politics is harming America’s interests, how she experienced “a lot of silencing” when she spoke out and what she wants to say to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Interview Highlights

Maria Luisa Kelly: Tell me, when did you start thinking about resigning?

Hala Rharrit: Well, honestly, it was quite a long process. I have been a diplomat for 18 years, actually my entire adult life. But the policy became really unacceptable. I resisted, hoping to try to change things from within, until at some point I realized that this policy was undermining American interests, was destabilizing the Middle East, and was in fact a failed policy. And with that I decided that I could no longer be part of the department and decided to submit my resignation.

Kelly: Was there a specific moment? I mean, what was your breaking point?

Rharrit: There wasn’t a really specific moment, it was just a preparation. With this policy we were undermining all of our credibility. With the double standards we had, we could no longer talk about human rights when we allowed and permitted the mass killing of civilians. We could no longer talk about press freedom when we remain silent about the murder of more than 100 journalists in Gaza. Everything we had defended was no longer relevant. I experienced a lot of silencing. I was ostracized. And there came a point where I decided it was no longer possible.

Kelly: You said you hoped to try to change things from within. Did you write a dissident telegram? Did you try to use official channels to register your discontent with American policy?

Rharrit: I absolutely went through official channels to express my disagreement. Initially, after the conflict, I wrote daily reports to the department for months explaining, reporting and documenting how the United States was viewed in the pan-Arab media, how our favorability was plummeting, how we were demonized as child killers. I did this formally. I did this informally. I was again prevented from doing this, but I continued to do it. It became very clear that no matter what I did, no matter what other diplomats did, politics was politics. And more specifically, our unconditional military aid made it impossible for us to have credibility even in the good things we were doing.

Kelly: I want to add that State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel (this is another State Department spokesperson) says that Secretary of State Blinken reads all the dissenting cables, that Blinken wants to hear different points of view. When he says he was excluded, can he be specific?

Rharrit: From the beginning, I refused to give interviews about Gaza, as a spokesperson in the region. Not because I personally disagreed with that policy, but because I documented how this policy was undermining US interests in the Arab world. How we were called a double standard and how people across the region saw our talking points and no longer believed us due to lack of credibility. I was documenting how I was causing a backlash. In reaction to that, actions were taken against me, multiple actions were taken against me.

Kelly: What type of actions were taken against you?

Rharrit: In other words, they accused me of misconduct, that it was a conduct issue, that I was refusing to do my job. They told me to go back on the air or downsize or resign; reduce means shorten your task. I mean, they gave me an ultimatum.

Kelly: I mentioned that you are the third public resignation from the State Department. You are the first diplomat, the first foreign service officer serving abroad, to resign. Of the department of thousands of people, how widespread do you think the anger is within the State Department?

Rharrit: I can only tell you what I have experienced, right? But I would say we are in very strange times at the State Department. Something I’ve never experienced before in my 18 years of service, where people are extremely uncomfortable with our policy and also extremely uncomfortable with the ability to talk about our policy internally. And I had never faced that before. We’ve always been able to talk about what works and what doesn’t. We have been able to have very open and frank conversations. This felt very, very different.

Kelly: So if you could lean in and speak directly into Secretary Blinken’s ear, what would you say?

Rharrit: Please stop the violence and unconditional military support. This is causing a generational cycle of violence, Secretary Blinken. Just think of the 20,000 orphans in Gaza. How are they going to grow up wanting peace? How is it possible that each of them doesn’t want to pick up a gun and avenge the murder of their parents? This vicious cycle is only allowing more insecurity, more hatred and more destabilization. The answer is no more bombs. The answer is diplomacy. The answer is for us to leverage our influence over Israel, working with our regional partners throughout the Arab world, to pressure Hamas to achieve a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, which is a two-state solution that the United States has proposed for a long time. supported.