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Letter To President Biden and President Obama
Letter To President Biden and President Obama
We reach out to you as former Obama-Biden administration and campaign alumni to express our
concerns about your continued support for Israel’s war on Gaza and the upcoming elections. We
are writing to you together because we see you both as our leaders with tremendous influence
over the fate of Palestinians and our democratic society here in America. We implore you both to
lead now before our democracy and the world backslide further into war and authoritarianism.
President Biden, you, not uncommitted voters or third-party candidates, are risking a Trump
presidency and our democracy by defending the war crimes and agenda of a foreign far-right
government. You are ignoring the growing majority of Democratic voters who recognize Israel’s
war in Gaza as a genocide and demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire. You are
abandoning your duty to represent us—the majority. You are responsible for the consequences of
your own actions and inactions.
Your actions and decisions have enabled the following in the last seven months:
● The annihilation of Gaza. Israel’s disproportionate military campaign has destroyed
schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and killed more than 35,000 Palestinians
(15,000 children). Over 13,000 people remain missing under the rubble.
● The continued risk to Israeli hostage lives. 36 hostages have already been killed.
● The murder of over 130 journalists and 700 aid/health workers with impunity,
including the targeted killing of World Central Kitchen staffers.
● The continued starvation of Palestinians, according to the UN’s Office of Humanitarian
Affairs, because of Israel’s delays and restrictions on aid convoys.
● The undermining and repeated violation of international law, including our own laws
such as the Foreign Assistance Act, Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the Leahy Law,
and the National Security Memorandum (NSM-20).
● The escalation of a potential regional war and anti-American sentiments.
Your rhetoric with respect to humanitarian concerns is undermined by your consistent and
deliberate policy of sending unconditional military aid to Israel and shielding them from facing
any consequences for their war crimes. Your words of “concern” over Israel’s largest illegal land
seizures in the West Bank (where Hamas does not operate) were completely invalidated when
you immediately followed them by approving the transfer of 2,000 pound bombs and artillery to
Israel. Your casual dismissal of Netanyahu’s stated ambition to invade Rafah is reckless. Your
failure to condemn Israel's attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria puts U.S. diplomats at risk.
The policies you defend have failed morally, politically, and strategically to achieve the stated
objective of defeating Hamas (whom Netanyahu repeatedly propped up, at the expense of other
Palestinian voices) militarily. The U.S. is a lone pariah standing on the wrong side of history.
Real policy actions, like ending U.S. military assistance, are necessary to be in compliance with
U.S. law and to force Israel to allow full humanitarian aid access into Gaza, desist their Rafah
invasion plans, cease illegal West Bank settlements, and agree to a deal that releases hostages on
both sides and ends the invasion of Palestine once and for all. A ground offensive in Rafah
would be a bloodbath and further provoke a regional war Americans do not want.
President Obama, you said we “can’t just talk and not listen...that’s what the other side does.” We
are listening. We have been listening to this administration in disbelief for nearly seven months–
justifying a failed approach, funding and weaponizing war crimes, undermining international
laws and the UN, and demonstrating a complete lack of “moral clarity.” We have listened to the
UN, the ICJ, world leaders, human rights lawyers, and the millions protesting around the world.
We listened to you, President Obama, when you rightly said (in 2013) that Palestinians deserve
rights, like Israelis, and to be free of occupation—a position most other presidents take only after
leaving office. How can you now justify this administration openly supporting occupation and
working to deny Palestinian statehood? How can you present such an unjust contrast between the
lives of Israelis and Palestinians, saying “We unequivocally support the people of Israel and their
ability to live and raise families and…have our hearts broken— watching innocent people being
killed and trying to manage through.” We presume those “innocent people” whom you did not
name in this statement are Palestinians. We have also noticed President Biden’s reticence to use
the word “Palestinians” when talking about the innocent victims of this war. Palestinians, too,
deserve unequivocal support to live and raise families. Decades of Palestinians getting “killed”
and “trying to manage through” is an inhumane status quo that we and the rest of the world are
no longer willing to tolerate. Their erasure and dehumanization are unacceptable.
Presidents Biden and Obama, we are seven months from a defining election in America’s
democracy. As your former staffers, the choice should be clear. We should be your biggest
advocates. And yet, it is difficult for us to feel inspired by or advocate for a presidential
candidate who responds to the widespread outrage over this war with empty words while
enabling it financially and militarily.
President Biden, as voters, we have a moral imperative to hold you accountable for enabling
Israel’s war crimes with our taxpayer dollars. We do not want to settle for a presidential
candidate who is blurring the lines that once differentiated him from “the other
side”—undermining international law and institutions, allowing Congress to pass laws to
suppress our voices, gaslighting us on the war crimes we are witnessing take place, and peddling
misinformation at the expense of human lives.
This letter serves as a final plea for you to course correct and serve the interests of your
constituencies, address our concerns and be on the right side of history–both for the sake of the
Palestinian people and the future of our democracy. Free speech and historic grassroots-led
movements for humanity and liberation cannot be undermined. And the Democratic coalition
cannot be allowed to unravel further in favor of a foreign government and its lobbyists.
We, the American voters, can help you win. But it will take a shift in policies (see the attached
appendix), not empty rhetoric, to earn our votes back. Stand with us for human rights,
democracy, and humanity.
1. Suspend military assistance to Israel to prevent them from invading Rafah and to
compel a permanent ceasefire. Even if this does not stop Israel, it is an important step that
should have been taken earlier to not allow them to get this far. Israel has committed
violations of international humanitarian law, and U.S. laws and policies, including FAA,
Leahy Law, AECA and NSM-20.
2. Call for a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the
West Bank. Push for a deal to free Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinian civilians,
allow Palestinians to move freely back to their neighborhoods across Gaza and get
unrestricted access to aid, and condemn any potential plans for settlements in Gaza.
3. Increase sanctions and publicly condemn illegal Israeli settlements and settler
violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
4. Recognize Palestine as a UN member state, and not be the only country to, again, veto
this basic step that is foundational to future peace talks between Israel and Palestine. The
baseline recognition of Palestinian existence as a people should not be seen or advised as
zero sum—those who do are effectively against recognizing Palestinian statehood. Peace,
for Israelis and Palestinians, is only possible when the occupation ends.
5. Stop coercing international bodies and forums like the ICC, ICJ and UN to provide a
diplomatic shield to Israel, which perpetuates impunity for their war crimes and
undermines America’s standing among the global community.
6. Urge Congress to reinstate funding to UNRWA. Diverting funding through the World
Food Program is detrimental to the long-term sustainability of UNRWA, which supports
almost 6 million Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria and Jordan.
3. David Johns, OFA (‘12); White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for
African Americans, Department of Education
4. Jenn Watts, National Deputy Political Director, OFA HQ (‘08); National Security
Director, Office of Presidential Personnel, White House
6. Rumana Ahmed, Senior Advisor to the Deputy National Security Advisor, National
Security Council, White House
10. Zaki Barzinji, Senior Associate Director & White House Liaison to
Muslim-Americans and Arab-Americans, Office of Public Engagement
11. Sara El-Amine, Regional Director, National Training Director OFA (’08-‘12);
National Organizing Director (‘12-’14); Executive Director, OFA (‘14-’16)
12. Sana Hussain, Sen. Obama Senate Office Staff, Volunteer (’08, ’12) Assistant
Director, White House, USAID (8 years)
13. Brian Highsmith, Policy Advisor, National Economic Council, White House
14. Sarah Hunter, Field Organizer, OFA MO (‘08); Policy Advisor, Office of the
Secretary, Dept. Housing and Urban Development
15. Taylor Fiscus, Regional Ops Director, SW, HQ (‘08); Deputy White House Liaison,
Environmental Protection Agency; Associate Director of White House Personnel
16. Bonnie Kwon, Deputy Regional Director, White House Initiative on Asian
Americans & Pacific Islanders
17. Parag Mehta, DNC Director of External Communication (‘08); Chief of Staff,
Office of the Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services
18. Paige Shevlin, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, National
Economic Council, White House
19. Zaid Hassan, Deputy Get-Out-The-Vote Director, OFA IA (‘12); Assistant Director,
White House Business Council, Office of Public Engagement, White House
28. Marybeth Benton, Intern, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
29. Gillian Bergeron, Deputy Field Director, CO (‘08); Field Director, OFA HQ (‘12)
30. Ariel Boone, Regional Field Director, PA (‘12); Intern, White House Council on
Environmental Quality
31. Romen Borsellino, OFA IA (‘08, ‘12); Special Assistant, Office of the Secretary,
Department of the Interior
34. Helen Boyer, Staff Assistant, DNC (‘12); Assistant, Department of Education
35. Alma Arteaga, Field Organizer, CO (‘12); Domestic Policy Council, White House
38. Miya Cain, Field Organizer, OFA NV (‘08); Policy Analyst, Administration for
Children and Families, Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS)
41. Asha Carter, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator,
Environmental Protection Agency
42. Jamiah Adams, Volunteer, OFA CA, NV, TX (‘08); Content Manager, DNC
46. Arun Chaudhary, New Media Road Director & Videographer, White House
48. Lauren Coffee, Deputy Field Directory, OFA NV (‘12); Texas State Director,
Organizing for America (2013-2014)
51. Elvis Cordova, Regional GOTV Field Director, OFA FL (‘12); Deputy Under
Secretary, Marketing & Regulatory Programs, US Department of Agriculture
57. Nicole Derse, National Training Director, Organizing for America (2009-2011);
Field Director, OFA WI (‘08); Deputy State Director/Political Desk/Regional Field
Director, OFA NH, SC, DE, VA, MD, RI (‘12)
60. Kiah Duggins, Intern, Office of the First Lady, White House
63. Thomas Francis, Speechwriter, Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS)
64. Tanisha Humphrey, Deputy White House Liaison, Advisor to the Secretary,
Department of Labor
66. Elizabeth Kim, AAPI Vote Deputy Director, OFA HQ (‘08); Director, Office of the
Executive Secretariat, Department of Labor
67. Aracely Macias , Associate Director, Department of Health and Human Services
68. Ashwani Jain, Student Director (‘08); Field Director (‘12); Cancer Moonshot
Director of Outreach, White House; Associate Director, HHS; Deputy White House
Liaison, HUD
69. Cheryl Ellis, Staging Location Director, OFA (‘08); Field Organizer, OFA (‘12);
State Coordinator, OFA (2013-2014)
73. Ian Ferguson, National Regional Data Director, OFA HQ (‘12); Field Organizer
(‘08)
74. Erin Fitzgerald, Civil Rights Specialist, Presidential Correspondence, White House
77. Anna Franklin, Field Organizer & Regional GOTV Director, OFA PA (‘08, ‘12);
Advisor, Human Capital and Talent Management, USAID & White House PPO
83. Kallie Hanley, Finance Marketing Assistant, OFA HQ (‘08); Senior Advisor to the
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, The Department of the Interior
86. Stanley Williams, Field Organizer, MO (‘08); Youth & LGBT Vote Director, NV
(‘12)
90. Colin Hicks, Regional Field Director, OFA WI (‘08) & OFA PA (‘12)
91. Katie Howland, Intern, Office of the Vice President, White House
95. Rashida Kamal, Special Assistant to the Director, White House Fellows Office
97. Amy Keegan Safranek, Statewide Deputy Field Director, OFA FL (‘12)
103. Sean Knox, Field Organizer, OFA CA (‘08); Data Director, CA & HQ (2009-2010)
104. Jacqueline Kowalik, Regional Field Director, OFA PA (2009-2011)
107. Grace Lesser, Field Organizer, OFA (‘08); Intern, White House
114. Philip Martin, Field Organizer, OFA OH (‘08); Director, Department of Education
117. Tania Mendes, Volunteer, OFA NH (‘08); Advance Team, White House
123. Steven Montoya, Field Organizer, NM (‘08); Regional Field Director, FL (‘12)
126. Lauren North, Field Organizer, OFA NM, ND, WI (‘08); Regional Field Director,
CO (‘12); Public Affairs Specialist, Department of Labor
127. Nikki Norton, Field Organizer, OFA (‘08); State Director, OFA (2010)
128. Katherine Nowak, Regional Field Director, OFA ND, OFA WI ('08)
129. Morgan O'Neill, Volunteer, President of UNH Students for Obama, NH (‘08)
139. Mika Rothman, Field Organizer, OFA WA (‘08); Project Manager, OFA HQ (‘12);
142. Suzanne Sapp-Snurpus, Regional Field Director, OFA TN, OFA FL (‘12)
143. April Saylor, Digital Outreach Strategist, Public Affairs, Department of Energy
146. Amber Seira, Special Advisor, Office of Government Contracting and Business
Development, U.S. Small Business Administration
147. Kara Severson, Volunteer, OFA CA, OFA NV (‘08); Volunteer, OFA HQ (‘12)
155. Megan Tackney, Special Advisor to Acting Assistant Secretary, Administration for
Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
158. Noma Thayer, DNC/HQ Data (‘12); Data Director, OFA CO (‘08)
165. Nicole Young, Regional Field Director, OFA MI (‘08); Staff Assistant, Presidential
Personnel Office, White House
167. Salim Shariff, Deputy Digital Director, OFA OH (‘12); Digital Advisor to the
Secretary, Dept of. Health and Human Services
168. Xanthe Hilton, Fellow, OFA NH, OFA OH (‘08); Field Organizer, OFA MI (‘12)
174. Gita Ram, Special Assistant, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs,
Department of Labor
175. M Roberts, Special Assistant and Briefing Book Coordinator, U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development
176. Nicole Grigg, Special Assistant, Office of the Undersecretary for Management and
Performance, Department of Energy
178. Kass Bessert, Data/Tech Director, ‘12 (IA), OFA (NV), ‘08 (CA, OR, WA, SD, FL)
Signed anonymously:
181. Special Assistant to the President, Domestic Policy Council, White House
184. Regional Field Director, OFA WI (‘08); Deputy Director of Policy, Office of the
First Lady, White House
188. Political Director, OFA NV (‘08); Regional Political Director, White House
190. Field Organizer & Jewish Vote Director, IN (‘08); Deputy Field Director, MN (‘10)
192. Deputy Field Director, OFA WI (‘08); Deputy White House Liaison, Office of the
Secretary, Department of Education
194. Regional Field Director, OFA OH (‘08, ‘12); Director of Scheduling and Advance,
Office of the Attorney General, US Department of Justice
195. State Director, Organizing for America CA (‘08-’12); State Director, CA (‘12)
197. Field Organizer, OFA PA, OFA MI, OFA OH (‘08); Staffer, OMB, US Department
of Homeland Security (DHS); Council on Environmental Quality, White House
201. Field Organizer, OFA CO (‘08); Research Associate, OFA HQ (‘12); Director of
Operations and Photo Editor, White House
223. Organizer, OFA MO (‘08); Intern, Office of Public Engagement, White House
224. Field Organizer, PA (‘08); GOTV Director, PA (‘12); Senior Advisor, USAID
237. Deputy Digital Director, OFA (2013-2015); Digital Program Manager OFA
(2011-12); Deputy Field Director, OFA (2010-2011); Field Organizer, OFA ‘08’