Wednesday, February 5

Tag: state department

Au Revoir, Au Pairs – WSJ
23Nov By adminNo Comments
World

Au Revoir, Au Pairs – WSJ

Liza came to my family from Ukraine in 2015 after Russia invaded her homeland. Seeking safety and opportunity in America, she applied for and was accepted into the U.S. au pair program, lived with us for two years and learned to love this country. Her dream is to become a naturalized citizen. Would we welcome someone like Liza into our home again? Absolutely, but we couldn’t do it if the Biden administration finalizes a regulation it proposed on Oct. 30.The State Department essentially wants to end the au pair program, which connects more than 21,000 foreigners with American families a year. The forthcoming mandate would require employers to treat au pairs more like traditional employees, though the program was designed to combine cultural exchange and child care. Families currently can p...
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The Hostage Deal Means Israel Is Fighting the Clock
23Nov By adminNo Comments
Health

The Hostage Deal Means Israel Is Fighting the Clock

With a four-day cease-fire reportedly going into effect Friday, time isn’t on Israel’s side in its war with Hamas in Gaza. Israel already faces challenges unprecedented in the history of war. A terrorist enemy dedicated to its destruction holds hundreds of hostages in a complex tunnel network and uses civilians as human shields. Israeli society, already riven by political infighting, is traumatized by Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault and divided over how to handle the hostage crisis. Further cease-fires mean the recovery of more hostages, but this will slow and eventually halt Israel’s effort to break Hamas’s control over Gaza. That would be a strategic defeat for both Israel and the U.S.Israel needs time to root out Hamas. But the longer the war goes on, the likelier it is to spiral into a regiona...
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Uncivil Servants: Foreign Policy Bureaucrats Target Israel
18Nov By adminNo Comments
Business

Uncivil Servants: Foreign Policy Bureaucrats Target Israel

The Biden administration faces a wave of internal dissent against its support of Israel. On Nov. 14, more than 500 staff members and political appointees from about 40 government agencies sent a joint letter to President Biden criticizing his administration’s policy on the Gaza war, according to the New York Times.It was the latest of several protest letters. The Times reported that the administration has received similar messages, including three internal memos addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a letter “signed” by more than 1,000 employees of the Agency for International Development. The State Department requires that employees sign their names to dissent cables, but the other two letters have no signatures. The Times reported that these government employees wrote anony...
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Antony Blinken Met With Officials Opposing U.S. Gaza Policy
4Nov By adminNo Comments
Politics

Antony Blinken Met With Officials Opposing U.S. Gaza Policy

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with a group of State Department officials who are involved in formal dissents over President Joe Biden’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war, according to one current and one former State Department official.The previously unreported meeting took place on Oct. 26, said the former official, who left the State Department several years ago. It came amid huge internal frustration at State over the sense that Biden has disregarded officials’ national security expertise and circumvented normal consultation processes in his focus on demonstrating support to Israel.A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting beyond saying “the Secretary meets with colleagues regularly including those who may have dissenting views.”Department spokesper...
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