The State Dept. Official Who Quit Over Israel
What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Slate Podcasts
4.3 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 25 October 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why one State Department official who worked in weapons transfers quit over America’s policy towards Israel and Gaza—and what that says about U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Guest: Josh Paul, former State Department official working in arms transfers to foreign powers, who resigned on Oct. 18.
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Transcript
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| 0:37.0 | If Josh Paul was at work right now, he'd be busy. |
| 0:41.0 | Really, busy. |
| 0:43.0 | He's been the last 11 years as a diplomat. |
| 0:45.0 | Simultaneous wars in Israel and Ukraine meant to hold at a late night emails |
| 0:50.0 | and early morning conference calls. |
| 0:53.0 | But last week, he quit. |
| 0:56.0 | This was a sudden decision. |
| 0:59.0 | I resigned because I don't believe that US provided arms should be provided |
| 1:03.0 | into a situation where we know they are going to cause massive civilian harm. |
| 1:07.0 | You're talking about Israel. |
| 1:09.0 | Right, and Israel's use of them, particularly in Gaza. |
| 1:14.0 | Josh resigned with a barn burner of a letter, which he posted on LinkedIn. |
| 1:19.0 | He said he knew that working with the American government |
| 1:22.0 | was not without its moral complexity and moral compromises. |
... |
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