A special advisor in the Education Department’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development wrote a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, expressing concern about the Bidden administration’s lack of response to the atrocities against innocent Palestinian lives. He referred to the actions as a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government, as described by leading human rights experts.

By Staff Reporters

Tariq Habash, an adviser at the Department of Education in the Biden administration, resigned due to his objection to the administration’s military support for Israel’s conflict in Gaza and its handling of the impact.

In the early days of President Biden’s administration, Habash, an accomplished Palestinian-American professional with a wealth of experience and knowledge in student debt, was appointed to a critical position within the Education Department. His appointment was part of a broader effort to bolster the department’s expertise in student loans.

In a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Habash, special assistant in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development of the Education Department, stated: “I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government.”

He further wrote: “The Department of Education must play an active role in supporting institutions as they respond to the needs of students, faculty, and staff. This includes protecting all students who choose to exercise their First Amendment right to engage in nonviolent actions, including expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.”

According to the Associated Press, Habash tendered his resignation after he and other individuals had “done everything imaginable” in an endeavour to register their objections with administration leaders through the system.

Habash has become the second official to resign from the administration due to his strong objection to the decisions made by President Joe Biden regarding the Israeli war against Palestinians in Gaza. The first official to resign was Josh Paul, an 11-year veteran of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, who left in October 2023 as the administration increased the frequency of weapon transfers to Israel.

“I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be short-sighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse,” Paul, wrote on his LinkedIn account on Wednesday 18 October 2023.

Habash, who was part of the administrative team with Middle Eastern, Muslim, and Jewish heritage, participated in meetings with senior White House officials and other administration members to address the staff’s concerns regarding the United States’ involvement in the war.

Speaking to AP, Habash characterised these sessions on Wednesday as primarily consisting of briefings from higher-ranking officials rather than providing an opportunity for the staff to express their perspectives.

The Biden administration has defended Israel’s devastating air and ground campaign in Gaza as Israel’s legitimate self-defence against Hamas. They cite their persistent calls for the government of  Benjamin Netanyahu to alter its tactics in the conflict to reduce the number of Palestinian civilian casualties.

The aftermath of the Israel-Palestine conflict has caused significant disruptions on college campuses in the United States. This has led to discussions about the boundaries of free speech. University administrators have faced challenges determining when political expression becomes harassment or discrimination. Jewish and Arab students have expressed concerns about their safety and well-being.

AP reports that the issue came to a boil in December when the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT were asked to testify at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism. Asked by Republican lawmakers whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate campus policies, the presidents offered lawyerly answers and declined to state that it was prohibited speech openly.

Their answers sparked a protracted backlash from funders and former students, finally leading to Liz Magill’s resignation from the University of Pennsylvania and Claudine Gay’s resignation from Harvard University.

According to recent news reports, the US Education Department has warned colleges that they need to take action to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus. Failure, the department warned, to do so may result in a loss of federal funding. Following the events of 7 October in Israel, the agency has launched civil rights investigations into several educational institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, in response to allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Last November, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona had meetings with Jewish students from colleges located in Baltimore. He promised to implement measures that would ensure their safety. Additionally, he held a meeting with the leaders of well-known Muslim, Arab, and Sikh associations to discuss the increasing prevalence of Islamophobia on university campuses.

Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters