US gov. employees plan a hunger strike in support of Palestine
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Members of Feds United for Peace have announced that they will go on a hunger strike next week to protest US support for Israeli genocide and the deliberate starvation of Palestinians.
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Susanne Brands, 22, left, and Mina Seljogi, 21, both interns at the American Foreign Service Association, attend a rally of U.S. diplomats and federal workers against the prospect of a government shutdown, Friday, April 8, 2011, in Washington (AP)
As a protest to Joe Biden's policy toward the Israeli war on Gaza and the occupation's use of starvation as a war weapon in Gaza, Feds United for Peace, representing employees from twenty-seven US government agencies and departments, are going on a hunger strike on Thursday, calling it a "day of fasting for Gaza" to draw attention on the ongoing war.
The federal employees will show up to their offices dressed in black or wearing Koufiyyehs or other symbols of Palestinian solidarity.
A federal employee, speaking on behalf of the group, stated that the "Day of Fasting" is a response to the occupation's use of “starvation as a weapon of war by intentionally withholding food from entering Gaza," citing a UN report that up to two million people in Gaza are at risk of famine.
Earlier this month, Feds United for Peace also organized an office walkout in solidarity with Palestinians triggering reactions in Washington, with national security officials from both US parties criticizing their protests as "insubordination".
Mike Johnson, House speaker and Republican, was triggered stating, “They deserve to be fired."
The main goal of the group is to encourage other employees to speak up as many urge for a ceasefire but are afraid of stating it and even discuss any form of politics because doing so might hamper their efforts to work on policy effectively.
Other US government employees have protested in support of Palestine
Back in December, Staffers for Ceasefire put on a vigil for Gaza outside the White House.
Last week, they published a statement in opposition to the efforts of senior White House officials to "boost morale" that has plummeted due to US support for "Israel".
“While White House chief of staff Jeff Zients throws a morale-booster party for staff tonight, a child in Gaza is killed every 8 minutes,” Staffers for Ceasefire said in the statement. “We are disgusted by this display of complete apathy towards the lives that have been taken in the region over the last three months.”
In early January, Tariq Habash, a senior political appointee from the education department resigned in protest.
In addition, at Biden’s 2024 re-election headquarters, campaigners have also anonymously signed petitions and letters in support of a ceasefire.
Van Jackson, a political scientist who worked in the Pentagon during the Barack Obama administration, wrote in his newsletter Un-Diplomatic, "We are in uncharted territory, and no presidential administration in the past 40 years has been denounced by its own staff like this – not collectively, not so publicly, and not with this regularity,” stressing that the recent protests from US public servants were unprecedented.
Workers of the world unite against genocide
One of the largest labor unions in the United States, representing workers in the automobile, aircraft, agricultural tools, and other industries, also called for a complete ceasefire in Gaza following the resumption of the Israeli aggression on the devastated Strip in December as the temporary truce ended.
The United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) comprises over 400,000 active workers and more than 580,000 retirees in these sectors across the US.
The announcement was made by the union's president, Brandon Mancilla, during a conference held at a rally outside the White House on December 1. The demonstrators, who went on a hunger strike in support of Gaza, carried banners reading: "Biden, you are starving Gaza."
"From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the @UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe," Mancilla said in his statement.
He also announced that the union's executive council will be "forming Divestment and Just Transition working group to study the history of Israel and Palestine, our union’s economic ties to the conflict, and explore how we can have a just transition for US workers from war to peace."
