“Incredible suffering has been enabled by our money. At the end of the day there are human beings who are suffering, and that is where our focus should be.”
On Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024, the Young Initiative at Occidental College hosted a conversation with Josh Paul, the former Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Mr. Paul is particularly notable as he resigned from his position as director in October 2023, directly due to the Biden Administration’s decision to rush lethal military aid to Israel, a decision by the Biden Administration which Mr. Paul noted as “shortsighted and destructive.”
Mr. Paul, in conversation with Diplomacy & World Affairs professor Anthony Chase, provided engaging insights and information regarding his role in the State Department, a brief history of the United States and Israel’s alliance, and the human rights violations seen in Gaza. He repeatedly emphasized the scale of destruction seen in Gaza in the present day, and the role of the United States in aiding and abetting the scale of destruction. He continued to discuss the U.S.-Israeli policy, and policies that the U.S. State Department employs when communicating with Israel. When asked why Mr. Paul resigned from the State Department so abruptly, he noted that the scale and scope of violence was too great to ignore, specifically with the White House ignoring any objections surrounding the level of death and devastation, and the general disregard for human rights. Mr. Paul then discussed his current work with Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), and how he continues to lobby and advocate for policy change surrounding United States support for Israel. Mr. Paul briefly discussed the Abraham Accords as a path towards increasing United States influence in the Middle East. This accord, Mr. Paul explained, was increasingly important for the United States to secure, but fell apart after the events of October 7th.
Mr. Paul concluded his conversation by reminding the audience of the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold in Gaza, and urged the students of Occidental to continue vocalizing their opposition and actively protesting the aid the United States gives to Israel.