Former State Department official Mike Casey says the U.S. government is pursuing Israel’s interests more than its own.
Mike Casey says he’s never seen anything like it.
Actually the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs An official who served as deputy policy adviser in the United States Office of Palestinian Affairs described his experience as a diplomat in Jerusalem as a humiliation.
“It’s frankly embarrassing … to see us giving in to the Israeli government’s demands and continuing to support what the Israeli government is doing even though we know it’s wrong,” Casey told Al Jazeera.
“And I haven’t seen that in any other country I’ve served in.”
After four years in office, Casey resigned in July because of the U.S. government’s steadfast support of Israel despite its devastating military operation in the Gaza Strip.
His resignation – first reported by The Guardian newspaper this week — is the latest from a U.S. official angered by President Joe Biden’s unwavering military and diplomatic support for Israel since the Gaza war started in October 2023.
To date, more than 45,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s ongoing attacks on the coastal enclave.
The conflict has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, and United Nations experts and leading human rights groups have accused the Israeli military of war crimes, among other things genocide.
The United States has said it is working toward a ceasefire and the release of prisoners held in Gaza. She also said she had urged Israel to minimize civilian casualties in its military operations.
But Biden refused to use American aid to Israel as leverage to end the war and rejected calls to suspend U.S. arms sales to the key ally.
This has sparked anger and criticism from advocates who have done so called the outgoing Democratic president “Genocide Joe.”
The U.S. provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and researchers at Brown University recently estimated that the Biden administration has provided another $17.9 billion since the start of the Gaza war.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Casey said his job in Jerusalem focused primarily on writing about the situation in Gaza, from humanitarian concerns to economic and political issues.
He said the U.S. government was aware of the dire conditions in the area, including the high number of casualties and the lack of humanitarian assistance. “And yet we continue to pursue this policy and support what the Israeli military is doing there,” he said.
“They get all of our coverage, they have everything we write, and they just ignore it.”
Asked why the U.S. government’s policies are the way they are, Casey said he believes one reason is because “it doesn’t care about the suffering of Palestinians.”
“We ignore the suffering of the Palestinians. We accept the Israeli government’s version of events, even though we know it is untrue, and we truly pursue Israel’s interests. We don’t pursue our own interests,” he told Al Jazeera.
“And that’s what drove me out the door in the end.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Saturday.
