Josh Paul should be congratulated and thanked for his resignation in protest from the State Department over the U.S. government’s response and overall policy towards Israel and Palestine. Josh has bravely come forward to state that U.S. policy towards Israelis and Palestinians is immoral, harmful and counterproductive to U.S. security issues. 

As someone who resigned in protest from the State Department over immoral and counterproductive American war efforts in Afghanistan, I applaud Josh for listening to his conscience, intellect and experience and acting on it. 

Whistleblowers like Josh are too often celebrated at the moment but then quickly forgotten, even when events and history prove them right. I hope this is not the case for Josh and that U.S. policymakers, politicians and the media listen to him now and into the future. 

Josh’s criticism of U.S. foreign policy should be looked at beyond the circumstances and events of Israel and Palestine. His critique of U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine as being “built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia” can be applied to the totality of a militarized U.S. foreign policy. In a sane, tolerant and wise government, a civil servant like Josh would be heeded and promoted rather than being compelled to resign.

In the years to come, Josh will never have to defend himself for why he went along with something he knew was wrong. As we witness the unfolding deliberate ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, the need for more men and women like Josh Paul is clear.