Amid growing dissatisfaction within the administration over its Israel policy, the White House plans to host a “morale booster” party for hundreds of staffers, led by Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
The event aims to celebrate the collective efforts of administration staff over the past three years, offering a positive boost as President Biden potentially enters his final year in office, Fox News Digital reports.
The decision to organize such an event comes at a time when discontent is palpable within the administration, particularly regarding its handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The announcement of the party follows the resignation of a senior Biden education official in protest of the administration’s stance on the war. This official cited concerns about the administration turning a blind eye to what human rights experts have labeled a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government against innocent Palestinian lives. In his resignation letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the official expressed the moral imperative to speak out against atrocities.
Simultaneously, over a dozen Biden campaign staffers articulated their discontent in an anonymous letter, echoing the sentiment that the deaths of Palestinians cannot be justified. They urged President Biden to publicly call for a cessation of violence, emphasizing that the administration’s response to Israel’s bombing in Gaza contradicted the values of justice, empathy, and human dignity. The staffers warned that the administration’s handling of the conflict could jeopardize electoral prospects in the 2024 election.
This move to boost morale through a party comes as a response to heightened dissent within the administration, with past instances including a letter signed by 400 government officials opposing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict and a leaked internal State Department memo urging a change in the administration’s public stance toward Israel and support for a cease-fire. The party invitation explicitly excludes campaign workers, underscoring the deepening divisions within the administration on the contentious issue.
