Associated Press reports: An Interior Department staffer on Wednesday became the first Jewish political appointee to publicly resign in protest of U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Lily Greenberg Call, a special assistant to the chief of staff in the Interior Department, accused President Joe Biden of using Jews to justify U.S. policy in the conflict.

Call had worked for the presidential campaigns of both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and was a longtime activist and advocate for Israel in Washington and elsewhere before joining the government.

“I can no longer in good conscience continue to represent this administration,” she wrote in her resignation letter.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Call pointed to comments by Biden, including at a White House Hanukkah event where he said “Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world who was safe” and at an event at Washington’s Holocaust Memorial last week in which he said the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks that triggered the war were driven by an “ancient desire to wipe out the Jewish people.”

“He is making Jews the face of the American war machine. And that is so deeply wrong,” she said, noting that ancestors of hers were killed by “state-sponsored violence.”

The Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians.

“I think the president has to know that there are people in his administration who think this is disastrous,” Call said of the war overall and U.S. support for it. “Not just for Palestinians, for Israelis, for Jews, for Americans, for his election prospects.”

‘I know the Nakba never ended’: Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib:

Amnesty Statement on Nakba Day: Mass forced displacement in Gaza highlights urgent need for Israel to uphold Palestinians’ right to return:

The current forced displacement of almost 2 million Palestinians and mass destruction of civilian property and infrastructure in the occupied Gaza Strip puts a spotlight on Israel’s appalling record of displacing Palestinians and its ongoing refusal to respect their right to return for the last 76 years, said Amnesty International marking Nakba Day.

The day commemorates the displacement of more than 800,000 Palestinians following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

“Generations of Palestinians across the occupied territories are deeply scarred by the trauma of being uprooted and dispossessed multiple times and with no prospect of return to their homes.

It is utterly harrowing to see the chilling scenes of 1948 Nakba (catastrophe), as it is known to Palestinians, repeat themselves as droves of Palestinians in Gaza are forced to flee their homes on foot in search of safety over and over, and Israeli army and state backed settlers expel Palestinians in the West Bank from their homes,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.

(Read the full statement here.)

Campus Protest Update:

Sonoma State President Placed on Leave After School Agrees to Academic Boycott of Israel:

CBS News reports: Sonoma State University President Mike Lee was placed on leave Wednesday following an email where he announced he and campus protesters had reached an agreement on divestment from Israel.

The email, posted by the student group, shows the other key agreement points.

• • Establishing an Advisory Council of Students for Justice in Palestine
  • Disclosure of investments and divestment, seeking ethical alternatives
  • Academic boycott of academic and research institutions that are sponsored by, or represent, the Israeli state
  • Recognize Palestinian identity and introduce historic curriculum
  • Calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza

There was immediate backlash against the email and Lee’s decision. CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia announced Lee was placed on administrate leave on Wednesday.

“For now, because of this insubordination and consequences it has brought upon the system, President Lee has been placed on administrative leave,” Garcia said.

Garcia said Lee’s message was sent without approval, and in an updated message to the campus, Lee said he was alone in his decision to send the email.

“I want to be clear: The message was drafted and sent without the approval of, or consultation with, the Chancellor or other system leaders. The points outlined in the message were mine alone, and do not represent the views of my colleagues or the CSU,” Lee said on Wednesday.

“In my message, I stated: “We understand that many people feel anxious and fearful, particularly when standing for what they believe. We ask that everyone do their part to support one another, to ensure that Sonoma State is a safe and inclusive place for all.” I stand by that statement. I realize now that my message has caused more fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. This was not my intent,” Lee said.

Chancellor Garcia said she and the Board continue to look into the matter, and there will likely be further updates.

NOTE: Pro-Israel organizations consistently work to silence Palestine advocacy on campus – a free speech violation. One strategy they use is to pressure universities to officially adopt the IHRA “definition” of antisemitism, which defines legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitic. Other strategies include blocking prestigious appointments of and events with supporters of Palestinian rights, threatening to withhold major donations, and more. Typically, any move that defies the standard pro-Israel position is followed by an apology like the one Lee issued – an apology that recognizes only the sentiments of pro-Israel students and ignoring the actual issues of free speech and divestment from Israel.

On Wednesday 200 to 300 protesters took over the lecture hall at a time when no classes were in session, UC Irvine spokesperson Tom Vasich said.

Police responded in riot gear and formed a barricade while an officer on a loudspeaker warned the crowd that they had formed an unlawful assembly and risked arrest if they remained, the Orange County Register reported.

Students chanted slogans, banged drums and hoisted banners, with rows of police standing nearby, Reuters witnessed. One banner hung from the building declared the site “Alex Odeh Hall,” in honor of a Palestinian activist who was killed in a 1985 office bombing in the nearby city of Santa Ana.

Four adjacent research buildings with potentially hundreds of people inside were locked down, and those inside were instructed to shelter in place, Vasich said, though the university later altered that instruction and instead advised them to leave.

Shortly before nightfall, police moved in on the lecture hall, then engaged in a tense standoff with protesters at the encampment.

Helmeted police wielding batons formed a line against protesters. Police gradually moved forward, pushing the students back every few minutes, until the officers rushed the crowd and made more arrests.

NOTE: Pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses have overall been peaceful and non-confrontational, and have notably included a significant number of Jewish students. When there has been violence, it has come from pro-Israel counter-protesters and police.

RECOMMENDED READING: 

• • Columbia crackdown led by university prof doubling as NYPD spook.

  • Detailed study finds 99% of pro-Palestine protests at US universities are peaceful.

  • Ex-Israeli special forces agent says he went ‘undercover’ at UCLA protest encampment.

  • The mainstream media distorted our anti-Vietnam War protests 50 years ago. They’re following the same strategy today.

  • Punishments Rise as Student Protests Escalate.