Members of President Biden’s staff planned an anti-Israel protest for January 16th. Calling themselves “Feds United for Peace,” the organization boasted about having members across 22 different federal agencies. Planning a protest via a “Day of Mourning,” the members were planning on calling off work in support of a ceasefire. However, Mother Nature had other plans. With 3” of snow falling in the DC Metro area, Federal offices were closed, with workers told to conduct operations remotely.
In a statement to the Daily Caller, the group said, “This Day of Mourning was not just for federal employees in Washington but for employees across the country. Despite the closure of federal offices in Washington because of the weather, many employees eligible for telework still participated in the Day of Mourning. We do not have a final figure to share at this point.”
Their spokesman boasted that their numbers had grown since the initial post, and they now had members across 27 federal agencies. Among them were the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of State. When the Daily Caller spoke with someone from the State Department about the protests, they were told that all workers needed to follow the normal leave procedures or expect to be listed as being AWOL for the day.
House Speaker Mike Johnson took to Twitter to share his displeasure with the situation. “Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers. They deserve to be fired. Oversight Chairman Comer and I will be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job.”
While liberals may believe that this is overboard, this is simply the price someone pays for undermining their employer. These federal employees should have the best interests of US allies at heart while employed in a federal capacity. If they want to support those who pose a threat to our allies, they are free to leave. They are free to seek employment that has nothing to do with this conflict.
Granted, given Biden’s two-faced approach to the situation, it’s almost understandable that they would undertake efforts to protest like this. Biden initially gave Israel unwavering support on October 7th, only to announce $100 million in humanitarian aid would be sent to Gaza just 11 days later, and with little real explanation of the flip-flop. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has reportedly supported this idea and said a ceasefire to appease protesters would only strengthen Hamas.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke out in a Biden-like “positive and negative” matter on the protest as well. Speaking with CNBC about the situation, he showcased pride that these officials would choose to speak up for the Palestinian people. After all, the freedom to protest is the foundation of the nation. He cautioned that their jobs need to come first. If they are unable to do both, then the protesting needs to go, or they do.
Multiple reports on the protests were filled with messages from participants who claimed that they found the cause to be bigger than themselves. In their hearts and their minds, if they didn’t speak up for the Palestinian people, then who would?
If they let a snow day block them from their real goal of protesting by taking an unscheduled day off, then they cannot think on their feet. A skill that should be required to be a government official in any capacity. They should be embarrassed to be protesting in support of Palestine and even more embarrassed that they got blocked like a child by a snow day.
