12. The Moral Conscience Of The State Department with Josh Paul

In this Episode of the Save The Olive Tree Podcast, I talk with Josh Paul who resigned from the State Department in October 2023 due the current administration's handling of military assistance to Israel. We discuss his resignation, how he sees the current conflict and even touch on his findings regarding sexual violence towards Palestinians occurring in Israeli detention centers. This week has been one of the deadliest in Gaza ever since the war began which has now stretched into the 9th month. Daily massacres of the civilian population in Gaza have led to a dire situation, which was very bleak to begin with. There have been massacres on people playing soccer, people living in tents in a “safe zone” and many more. We discuss: 1. What led to his resignation from the State Department in the aftermath of Oct 7th? 2. The process of transferring arms to Israel. 3. Is the US violating its own laws concerning arms transfers to Israel? 4. Why there is such blatant disregard for international humanitarian law when it comes to Israel and how the double standard can be called out here domestically. 5. The current situation within the State Department given the high number of resignations we've seen recently. 6. A bit of detail regarding his investigation into sexual violence inside Israeli prisons. 7. The possible short term and longer term possibilities with regards to this genocide. 8. His thoughts on the upcoming election and how a Trump administration would handle the current conflict. Guest intro: Josh Paul resigned from the State Department in October, 2023 due to his disagreement with the Biden Administration's decision to rush lethal military assistance to Israel in the context of its war on Gaza. He had previously spent over 11 years working as a Director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which is responsible for U.S. defense diplomacy, security assistance, and arms transfers. He previously worked on security sector reform in both Iraq and the West Bank, with additional roles in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Army Staff, and as a Congressional staffer for Representative Steve Israel (D-NY). Josh grew up between London and New York, and holds Masters degrees from the Universities of Georgetown and St Andrews, Scotland. He is currently a Non-Resident Fellow at the organization Democracy Now for the Arab World (DAWN) and a recipient of the 2023 Callaway Award for Civic Courage. Please subscribe to the channel and share it with your friends and family so we can continue our good work.