For the past 600 days, the world has watched Israel wage a complete war of destruction on the Palestinian people. According to the United Nations, Gaza is the “hungriest place on Earth.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The only inevitable outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip.”
Given this, the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota thought it would be a good time to invite one of the key architects of this genocide.
Former President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, is coming to campus on June 5. The national security advisor is arguably the most influential position in foreign policy, behind only the president and the secretary of state.
April 28, the same day I received an email invitation for Sullivan’s visit, Israel’s Channel 13 revealed the Biden administration wasn’t working “tirelessly” for a ceasefire, as they publicly loved to tout.
Instead, as the Israeli ambassador at the time, Michael Herzog, put it, “God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period, because it could have been much worse. We fought (in Gaza) for over a year, and the administration never came to us and said, ‘Ceasefire now.’ It never did.”
The report adds that Biden aides privately admitted Netanyahu was dragging out the war and sabotaging hostage negotiations.
Even if you overlook the genocide Israel is committing and Sullivan’s role in enabling it, a large demand, I may add, this blatant manipulation of the truth and abuse of public office should be disqualifying.
If the direct testimony from the Israeli ambassador wasn’t enough proof for the Biden administration’s gaslighting, there’s plenty more.
History has repeatedly shown how much sway the U.S. has over Israeli aggression. Just this January, the Trump administration proved this point. Trump sent a special envoy to Netanyahu to make “clear that Trump wanted him to agree to a deal,” and a deal was quickly made.
This is not a one-off incident. Previous Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and Dwight D. Eisenhower made firm demands during Israel’s invasion of Egypt and when Israel was carrying out what Reagan called a “holocaust” in Lebanon.
Although he left office, Sullivan continues to perpetuate this false narrative of the Biden administration’s success and sincerity. In February, MPR asked him if he would do anything differently. He stuck to only blaming Hamas and offered no critique of U.S. and Israeli policy.
If the Humphrey School continues to platform a genocidal liar, it is an insult to what we stand for with our supposed pursuit of truth and ethical leadership.
This event is not about fostering dialogue and learning. There is an endless list of speakers educated in the field who can speak freely on their expertise without needing to cover for the genocide they helped orchestrate. The extensive list of Biden administration resignees is a good place to start.
No matter how prestigious Sullivan may be as a guest, this is a complete betrayal of our shared values. At the Humphrey School, practically every student I’ve met attends here because of a sincere desire to improve the world, above all else. If we wanted bigger salaries, we would be at the neighboring Carlson School of Management or the law school in Walter F. Mondale Hall.
We’re told the Humphrey School is training the next generation of leadership. If so, then our faculty and staff need to lead by example by not platforming and legitimizing a proven liar who aided and abetted members of Israeli leadership who are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court.
From the halls of Congress to university administrators, there has been perhaps no greater deficit of courageous leadership and honorable public service than on the issue of Palestine. From Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar to the Humphrey School dean Nisha Botchwey, where do we draw the line when it comes to gross violations of human rights and international law? If a line even exists at all.
Kyle Feldhake is a community organizer and is studying a Master of Public Policy at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.