Top Biden Official: Israel Committed Genocide, But US Must Still Support It

Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today! A top State Department official under Joe Biden has acknowledged that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza with the help of the U.S. — but says that it is still “critical” for the U.S. to continue backing the genocidal state despite laws explicitly prohibiting such a practice. Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who served in the role up until July 2023, is seemingly the most senior Biden administration official to label Israel’s slaughter as a “genocide” in public remarks so far, save for a few officials who resigned from the administration in protest over the backing of Israel’s slaughter. In an interview with Bloomberg published on Friday, Sherman said that both Democrats and Republicans “have not dealt with the Middle East in a way that’s helped create stability and peace,” and lamented that domestic politics have become “very tied up with our relationship with Israel.” She then said that the U.S. must continue giving Israel support despite admitting that it has committed genocide in Gaza. “It is critical that Israel remains an ally of the U.S. and we protect the right of a Jewish state. I also believe that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has led us down a road — and we have been part of it — that has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilized the Middle East,” said Sherman. Related Story News Analysis | Environment & Health Palestinians in Gaza Want to Rebuild Food Systems. Israel Isn’t Letting Them. The majority of farmland is unusable due to Israeli bombing, bulldozing, or seizure within the so-called “Yellow Line.” By Shahad Ali , T ruthout April 26, 2026 Truthout The former official clarified that she “can’t make the legal analysis about whether it is literally a genocide, but there is no doubt that Gaza was demolished.” Sherman is a career diplomat who served under Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. She helped negotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal struck under the Obama administration. The idea that the U.S. has an obligation to send aid to a genocidal regime contradicts U.S. law. Sherman’s assertion that Israel has committed genocide is backed by countless experts of international law, including an independent UN group that concluded that Israel has committed genocide in a report published in September. U.S. law, however, bars the U.S. from sending weapons to foreign states if they fail to comply with human rights guidelines. Even the State Department, which carved out special procedures to expedite arms transfers to Israel amid the genocide, has internally found that Israel has committed “many hundreds” of potential human rights violations that would render it illegal to receive U.S. military aid under the Leahy Laws. Another Biden administration official, former State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, admitted last year that “it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.” Sherman is not asked about the contradiction in the interview, merely saying: “Palestinians deserve a home, dignity and peace. Israel absolutely deserves security and peace.” Public opinion has been turning against sending more aid to Israel. Polling released last week by The Economist /YouGov found that only 38 percent of Americans say that the U.S. should increase or maintain the same level of military aid to Israel, while 41 percent said the U.S. should decrease or stop it altogether. This includes only 23 percent of Democrats who say aid to Israel should increase or stay the same, compared to 56 percent who say it should be decreased or ended completely. An important fundraising appeal: 6 Days to raise $42,000 Truthout is one of only a few platforms for justice-oriented, grassroots journalism. Today, as political censorship from the right intensifies, we have no choice but to ask for your help. We are fundraising right now to cover our basic operating expenses. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference — we appreciate your support. 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Prohibited: You cannot use this work for commercial purposes. Article HTML Republish HTML code for copying <h1>Top Biden Official: Israel Committed Genocide, But US Must Still Support It</h1> By Sharon Zhang This article was originally published by <a href src="https://truthout.org/articles/top-biden-official-israel-committed-genocide-but-us-must-still-support-it/">Truthout</a> The official admitted in an interview that the US has aided in Israel's genocidal slaughter in Gaza. A top State Department official under Joe Biden has acknowledged that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza with the help of the U.S. — but says that it is still “critical” for the U.S. to continue backing the genocidal state despite laws explicitly prohibiting such a practice.  Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who served in the role up until July 2023, is seemingly the most senior Biden administration official to label Israel’s slaughter as a “genocide” in public remarks so far, save for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/28/biden-israel-gaza-policy">few officials</a> who resigned from the administration in protest over the backing of Israel’s slaughter. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-wendy-sherman-weekend-interview/">In an interview with Bloomberg</a> published on Friday, Sherman said that both Democrats and Republicans “have not dealt with the Middle East in a way that’s helped create stability and peace,” and lamented that domestic politics have become “very tied up with our relationship with Israel.” She then said that the U.S. must continue giving Israel support despite admitting that it has committed genocide in Gaza. “It is critical that Israel remains an ally of the U.S. and we protect the right of a Jewish state. I also believe that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has led us down a road — and we have been part of it — that has, in essence, created a genocide in Gaza that has destabilized the Middle East,” said Sherman. The former official clarified that she “can’t make the legal analysis about whether it is literally a genocide, but there is no doubt that Gaza was demolished.”  Sherman is a career diplomat who served under Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. She helped negotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal struck under the Obama administration.  The idea that the U.S. has an obligation to send aid to a genocidal regime contradicts U.S. law.  Sherman’s assertion that Israel has committed genocide is backed by countless experts of international law, including <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds">an independent UN group</a> that concluded that Israel has committed genocide in a report published in September.  U.S. law, however, <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/us-is-breaking-at-least-6-laws-with-assistance-to-israel-veterans-group-says/">bars the U.S. from</a> sending weapons to foreign states if they fail to comply with human rights guidelines.  Even the State Department, <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/former-official-biden-state-department-bending-us-law-to-send-israel-weapons/">which carved out</a> special procedures to expedite arms transfers to Israel amid the genocide, has internally found that <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/state-department-office-finds-hundreds-of-possible-israeli-rights-violations/">Israel has committed “many hundreds”</a> of potential human rights violations that would render it illegal to receive U.S. military aid under the Leahy Laws. Another Biden administration official, former State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/biden-official-acknowledges-israeli-war-crimes-after-15-months-backing-genocide/">admitted</a> last year that “it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes.” Sherman is not asked about the contradiction in the interview, merely saying: “Palestinians deserve a home, dignity and peace. Israel absolutely deserves security and peace.” Public opinion has been turning against sending more aid to Israel. Polling released <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/poll-finds-just-4-percent-of-democrats-support-increasing-military-aid-to-israel/">last week</a> by The Economist/YouGov found that only 38 percent of Americans say that the U.S. should increase or maintain the same level of military aid to Israel, while 41 percent said the U.S. should decrease or stop it altogether. This includes only 23 percent of Democrats who say aid to Israel should increase or stay the same, compared to 56 percent who say it should be decreased or ended completely. <hr> This <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/top-biden-official-israel-committed-genocide-but-us-must-still-support-it/">article</a> was originally published by <a href="https://truthout.org">Truthout</a> and is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)</a>. Please maintain all links and credits in accordance with our <a href="https://truthout.org/republishing-policy">republishing guidelines</a>. Copy this HTML code to republish the article on your website Close Copy HTML This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) , and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license. Sharon Zhang Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering international affairs, politics, and labor. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky . Truthout

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