The letter, which was first obtained by NBC News, was penned by more than 40 interns at the White House and the Executive Office of the President. The signatories worked under the executive branch for the fall 2023 season.
"We will no longer remain silent on the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people," the letter reads. "We heed the voices of the American people and call on the Administration to demand a permanent ceasefire. We are not the decision makers of today, but we aspire to be the leaders of tomorrow – and we will never forget how the pleas of the American people have been heard and thus far, ignored.
"We were horrified by the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, and we are horrified by the brutal and genocidal response by the Israeli government [that is] funded by our American tax dollars, which has killed over 14,000 innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza – a large percentage of whom are children."
The group of interns acknowledged the Biden administration's support for the week-long humanitarian pause in Gaza, but stressed that this was insufficient. It instead called for a "complete halt of Israel's mass slaughter of innocent civilians." (Related: White House aides' frustration with Biden’s Israel stance nears breaking point.)
"We urge the Biden administration to call for a permanent ceasefire now, a release of all hostages including Palestinian political prisoners, and to support a diplomatic solution that will put an end to the illegal occupation and the Israeli apartheid, in accordance with international law and for a free Palestine."
Biden under fire from his own party over Gaza issue
"Biden has repeatedly rejected calls for a permanent ceasefire to end the violence and is continuing U.S. support for Israel, including demanding further military aid, amid its renewed attacks against Hamas following an end to a recent seven-day ceasefire between the two sides," Newsweek reported.
Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas – formally the Islamic Resistance Movement – launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7. At least 1,200 people were murdered and 240 abducted by Hamas. In retaliation, Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza – killing more than 15,890 people, more than 10 times the number of casualties in the original attack.
The violence appears to be spreading outside the region, the letter's authors noted. They wrote that "ongoing violence perpetrated by the Israeli government" is resulting in the targeting of Muslims and Arabs in the U.S., including the shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont and the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian boy in Chicago.
Such acts of violence are "inconsistent" with the Biden administration's principles and the national strategies to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, the interns pointed out.
But the growing sentiment in favor of a ceasefire is not only limited to the White House interns. Both the general public and more progressive Democrats are at odds with him, as seen in a Data for Progress poll whose results were released on Dec. 5.
The poll found that a majority of respondents – 61 percent – support Washington calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Of this number, more than three-quarters of respondents – 76 percent – leaned Democrat.
JoeBiden.news has more stories about President Joe Biden's stance on the Gaza conflict.
Watch Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) remark that Biden won't take action on the interns' letter calling for a ceasefire.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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