A US State Department official, known for advocating human rights on behalf of the government, has become the latest staffer to step down from her position in protest against President Joe Biden’s perceived contentious backing of Israel’s actions in the Gaza conflict.
Annelle Sheline, a Middle East analyst, disclosed her resignation in an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, amidst a rising death toll in Gaza and warnings from the World Food Programme of an imminent famine in the region.
Sheline’s departure from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour marks a significant public exit from the department, following Josh Paul, a senior official in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, who announced his resignation last October.
Expressing her reasons for leaving, Sheline, who served as a foreign affairs officer, cited the difficulty of promoting human rights while representing a government accused of enabling what the International Court of Justice has described as a potential genocide in Gaza.
“In light of this, I find it untenable to continue working for an administration that supports such atrocities,” Sheline stated. “Thus, I have chosen to resign from my position at the Department of State.”
Initially, Sheline had not planned to go public with her resignation, but after encouragement from colleagues, she opted to speak out, believing that public pressure could potentially influence the administration’s stance.
Her departure is not an isolated incident, as Tariq Habash, a Palestinian-American policy adviser at the Department of Education, resigned in January for similar reasons.
These resignations come amidst mounting pressure on the Biden administration from within the Democratic Party to advocate for a lasting ceasefire and to place restrictions on Israel’s use of US weapons and military assistance in Gaza.