Staff members of Biden administration hold vigil to call for cease-fire in Gaza

Wearing masks and sunglasses to protect their anonymity, a group of staff members of the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration lay down flowers outside the White House on Wednesday during a vigil to call for cease-fire in Gaza.

“Over 800 of us have signed a letter to the president, vice president and cabinet members demanding a cease-fire and de-escalation,” said Josh Paul, a former senior State Department staffer who quit to protest US arms transfers to Israel, as he read a statement on behalf of the Administration Staffers for Ceasefire coalition.

“We are here this evening to mourn the loss of every individual, beautiful and innocent life. As we lay flowers and stones in their memory we demand and end to the violence that took them,” he read.

“We stand before the White House tonight on the 7th night of Hanukkah, and as we get ready to celebrate Christmas and the winter holidays with our loved ones, to make clear that we cannot stay silent about the atrocities that are continuing in Gaza.

“Over 800 of us have signed a letter to the president, vice president and cabinet members demanding a cease-fire and de-escalation. We were horrified by the brutal October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians, and have been horrified by the disproportionate response by the Israeli government, which has indiscriminately killed thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza and displaced over a million more.”