Samad Hakani, Photography Editor

Growing up, Hala Rharrit never expected she would join the government. On Wednesday, she explained to a group of 30 students at Yale’s Middle Eastern-North African cultural suite why she did — and why she ultimately resigned this year.

Rharrit, who was introduced by the event organizers as “fundamentally a peacemaker,” served as a political officer in the State Department for 18 years, and had been stationed in Yemen, Hong Kong, Qatar and South Africa. Most recently, she worked as the department’s Arabic language spokesperson and represented the State Department on Arabic media. Rharrit resigned from her job in April because of the department’s approach to Israel’s war in Gaza.

At the event, structured as a Q&A session, Rharrit spoke about her career in government and the difficulties she faced in doing her job during the present war in the Middle East, and asked student attendees about pro-Palestinian advocacy and community at Yale.

“I’m really excited to hear from the students,” Rharrit told the News after the event. “You guys are the change that is going to happen in this country. So I wanted to understand your perspectives, where you were coming from, and how you saw things, and what your plans were for the future.” 

Rharrit continued that she was inspired by the students’ understanding of global politics and by their ability to find solidarity in each other and raise awareness on campus of the Palestinian suffering.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rharrit spoke to a Yale class taught by American studies professor Zareena Grewal. At the MENA Cultural Community — or MENACC — Rharrit addressed a more intimate and casual setting, and she sat in a circle of chairs with participants.

Rharrit entered the State Department’s Foreign Service through the Rangel Fellowship — a program she described as “critical” for increasing ethnic diversity among diplomats. Although she has always had an interest in foreign affairs, she did not originally imagine she would work for the government. Instead, she was an “activist.”

“I did not think or know that I would join the department, but I also strongly felt that if you want to see change, you’ve got to create change,” she said to the attendees.

When Israel began its war in Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, Rharrit recalled receiving talking points from the State Department for her media appearances that she described as dehumanizing to Palestinians, which she “immediately refused to deliver.” 

By Oct. 23, 2023, the death toll in Gaza was estimated to be more than 5,000. That day, to explain the high civilian death count, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized that the Hamas terror group — which Israel set out to destroy — “embeds” itself in Gaza’s civilian population. He added that civilian deaths were an “unfortunate byproduct” of the campaign.

Instead of delivering the talking points, Rharrit decided to send daily reports to policymakers in the department, summarizing Arabic media and the situation in Gaza. At first, Rharrit expected her reports to yield a change in departmental thinking.

“I always had this thought, if only the government knew, if only they really understood,” Rharrit said. “I would put my entire heart and soul into those daily reports, hours and hours into the night.”

Based on feedback from colleagues, Rharrit believed her reports were reaching high-level policymakers — including White House advisors and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. She also believes that the “vast majority” of diplomats agree with her assessment that the U.S.’s policies regarding the war — including continued arms shipments to Israel — were harmful to both civilian life and American national security.

Rharrit recalled hearing in January that her reports were “no longer needed, that the devastation in Gaza was understood exactly.” In turn, she decided that she could not return to making televised appearances on behalf of the department until elements of the policies changed. 

“Obviously, the policy wasn’t changing,” she said. “It’s a very difficult decision to resign. And when you’re a diplomat, it’s not just a job. Your entire life is wrapped around it. So it took a lot of time to detangle all of that, but it became very clear to me, most particularly after they told me the reports were no longer needed, that I couldn’t stay within the department.”

Rharrit described that the attitudes of senior officials in the State Department had an unprecedented “chilling effect” on internal debate.

Toward the end of the event, Rharrit directed questions toward student attendees who had participated in protests or advocacy work surrounding the war, asking if they were okay or if she could help in ongoing legal struggles. Over a dozen students arrested in connection to the spring 2024 semester’s protests will appear in court on Oct. 31.

Farhan Memon, the chairperson for the Connecticut office of the Council on American Islamic Relations, invited Rharrit to speak at the council’s fundraising event on Saturday. 

“Given the fact that she resigned because she was opposed to [U.S.] policy, really gives her a very unique insight that I think not many people in the world have, and that was an important point of view to share with students here at Yale,” Memon said.

Memon emphasized that Rharrit’s departure was a personal decision, not a rejection of government service in general and that there are many effective ways of engaging with the government from within.

Fagr Aboudaka ’27, a peer liaison for MENACC, moderated the conversation with Rharrit. She said that Rharrit’s public resignation and her Morrocan American identity was especially inspiring to students. 

“I think it was a great opportunity to hear from her directly for MENA students who relate to her, who want to understand her experience and who want to either follow in her footsteps or understand what they can do to make change where she wasn’t able to,” Aboudaka said. 

Aboudaka added that the discussion with Rharrit allowed students to “feel seen.” She described the event as a great step forward in the “long journey to establish the MENA center.”  

Yale’s MENA cultural suite opened in August, after former University President Peter Salovey promised to increase resources for Middle Eastern and North African students in a December 2023 statement.

“Someone with such a high position coming here to speak to us directly means a lot to us because it makes us feel seen,” Aboudaka said. “A lot of things that she said — that the protesters were heroes, and that the MENA center is doing great work — it’s just inspirational to know that this is not a short-term project and that our goal is to keep growing and to keep supporting MENA identifying students.” 

The MENA cultural suite is located at 305 Crown St.

Correction, Oct. 25: The article has been updated to reflect that Rharrit is not Palestinian American.