LONDON: Federal government employees in the US are planning a “day of fasting for Gaza” on Thursday to protest at the response of President Joe Biden and his administration to the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, according to reports.
The fast is being organized by Representatives for Feds United for Peace, which represents more than 20 government agencies including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State.
The move comes amid unrest among some government employees over Biden’s stance on Israel, and its military offensive inside Gaza, The Guardian reported.
One federal employee told the newspaper the day of fasting would be used to highlight Israel’s use of “starvation as a weapon of war by intentionally withholding food from entering Gaza.”
Those participating in Thursday’s protest have been asked to go to work wearing black clothing or the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.
The same group of federal employees also held a “day of mourning” on Jan. 16 to mark 100 days of the war in Gaza.
A group called “Staffers for Ceasefire” recently criticized Jeff Zients, the White House chief of staff, after news emerged of a party being held for White House employees to “boost morale.”
The group said in a statement: “We are disgusted by this display of complete apathy towards the lives that have been taken in the region over the last three months.
“There is no justification for this level of destruction, this level of terror. We unequivocally call on you to demand a ceasefire. We call on you to end our complicity in this brutality.”
More than 25,000 Palestinians, 10,000 of them children, have been killed in Israel’s retaliation to attacks by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 last year, in which 1,200 people lost their lives, while the UN estimates nearly 2 million people in Gaza are at risk of famine.
