MESSAGE
| DATE | 2025-08-20 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Firing of Pro-Islamists State Department spokesmen
|
jpost.com
Netherlands lists Israel as threatening state actor alongside Iran,
Russia, Turkey
MATHILDA HELLER
4–5 minutes
State Dept. fires press officer for disputes with Trump admin. over Gaza
policies - report
Top press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs Shahed Ghoreishi had
several disputes with senior State Department officials, including over
Gaza evacuation plans, Washington Post reported.
An illustrative image of US President Donald Trump superimposed over
displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
An illustrative image of US President Donald Trump superimposed over
displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
(photo credit: Canva, EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS, Hatem Khaled/Reuters)
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
AUGUST 21, 2025 02:58
The US State Department fired its top press officer for
Israeli-Palestinian affairs following disputes over how to cover key
Trump administration policies, the Washington Post reported on
Wednesday, citing US officials and documents which the outlet had reviewed.
The policies included the administration's plans to relocate hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the outlet noted. Shahed
Ghoreishi's firing comes days after an internal department debate about
releasing a press statement that he drafted, which said "we do not
support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza."
The State Department leadership vetoed the line, instructing officials
to "cut the line marked in red and clear," according to a memo dated
last week seen by the Washington Post.
“We do not comment on leaked emails or allegations,” State Department
spokesperson Tommy Pigott was cited by the Washington Post as saying.
“Federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies
ahead of the duly elected president’s agenda.”
However, US officials told the Washington Post that Ghoreishi's firing
sent a chilling message to State Department employees that communication
that strays from ardent pro-Israel messaging, even if it is in line with
long-standing policy in Washington, will not be tolerated.
An illustration US President Donald Trump and the Gaza Strip (credit:
REUTERS, SHUTTERSTOCK)
An illustration US President Donald Trump and the Gaza Strip (credit:
REUTERS, SHUTTERSTOCK)
The newspaper spoke to Ghoreishi, who told them that he was not given an
explanation for his firing. The report noted that the State Department
was not required to do so, as Ghoreishi was a contractor.
Ghoreishi also told the Washington Post that "Despite a strong
reputation and close working relationship with many of my colleagues, I
was unable to survive these disputes," and that the incident raised
troubling questions about the State Department's position on the
potential expulsion of Palestinians from the enclave.
Similar dispute over public statement after the killing of Anas al-Sharif
A similar dispute between State Department leadership and Ghoreishi
emerged over Israel's killing of Hamas terrorist Anas al-Sharif on
August 10.
Ghoreishi wanted to release a message of condolence after Sharif, who
was also working as an Al Jazeera journalist, was killed. However,
department leaders sent an email saying "No response is needed. We can't
be sending out condolences if we are unsure of this individual's
actions," the Washington Post reported.
Ghoreishi also clashed with David Milstein, an advisor to US ambassador
to Israel, Mike Huckabee, including over the State Department's decision
to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria.
A memo from Milstein, which was seen by the Washington Post, praised
Speaker Mike Johnson for "making history as the highest-ranking US
official and first speaker of the House to ever go to Judea and
Samaria." According to the outlet, Ghoreishi cut that line.
Ghoreishi denied that he was motivated by anti-Trump views, and praised
a speech by the president in May.
"Trump called out neocons and Western interventionists for failing the
Middle East, and claimed he wanted to help pave a new path for the region."
"The hawks on the seventh floor of the State Department do not match
that vision," he added.
The "seventh floor" is the location of the offices of Secretary of State
Marco Rubio and other top officials.
Far Right activist, Laura Loomer, criticised Ghoreishi as a "Pro-Iranian
Regime Jihadi Muslim Tied To NIAC," referring to the National Iranian
American Council, which supported then-president Barack Obama's 2015
Iran nuclear deal. Ghoreishi admitted to being an intern at NIAC in
2013, according to the Washington Post.
--
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that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
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but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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