State Department employee fired after questioning talking points on
Israel and Gaza
[August 21, 2025]
By MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has fired a press officer who was
responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about
policy toward Israel and Gaza after complaints from the U.S. Embassy in
Jerusalem.
Officials said Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor working for the Bureau of
Near East Affairs, was terminated over the weekend following two
incidents last week in which his loyalty to Trump administration
policies was called into question.
Ghoreishi, who is Iranian American, also was targeted Wednesday
following his dismissal by right-wing personality Laura Loomer, who
accused him of not being fully supportive of the administration’s
policies in the Middle East.
According to Ghoreishi and two current U.S. officials, Ghoreishi drew
the ire of a senior official at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and then
top aides to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for drafting a response to a
query from The Associated Press last week. The question related to
discussions between Israel and South Sudan about the possible relocation
of Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan.
The draft response included a line that said the U.S. does not support
the forced relocation of Gazans, something that President Donald Trump
and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have said repeatedly.
However, according to Ghoreishi and the officials, that line was
rejected by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, leading to questions about
policy back in Washington. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity
to discuss internal personnel changes.
Ghoreishi also said he questioned a statement from the embassy that
referred to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria,” the Biblical name for
the Palestinian territory that some right-wing Israeli officials prefer.
Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, also has repeatedly backed
referring to the West Bank by Judea and Samaria.
The ouster shows the lengths that the Trump administration has gone to
ensure what it sees as loyalty to the president and his goals, including
a foreign policy approach that has offered overwhelming support for
Israel in the war against Hamas. The administration this week also
revoked security clearances for 37 current and former national security
officials, including many who had signed a 2019 letter critical of Trump
that was recently highlighted by Loomer.
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Demonstrators block a road during a protest demanding the immediate
release of hostages held by Hamas and calling for the Israeli
government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City and other
areas in the Gaza Strip, near Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Aug. 17,
2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“Despite a close working relationship with many of my dedicated and
hardworking colleagues, I was targeted following two events last
week when I attracted the ire of the 7th floor and senior officials
in Embassy Jerusalem: stating we are against forced displacement of
Palestinians in Gaza as President Trump and special envoy Witkoff
have both previously claimed and cutting a reference to Judea and
Samaria,” Ghoreishi said, referring to the floor where top leaders
have offices at the State Department.
“Both of these had been consistently approved at the senior level in
the past, so it begs the question why I was suddenly targeted
without a direct explanation and whether our Israel-Palestine policy
is about to get even worse — including an unwillingness to take any
stand against ethnic cleansing. The future looks bleak,” he said.
State Department spokespeople declined to comment on his firing,
calling it an internal personnel matter.
Without addressing the specifics, deputy State Department spokesman
Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the agency “has zero tolerance
for employees who commit misconduct by leaking or otherwise
disclosing confidential deliberative emails or information. Federal
employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead
of the duly elected President’s agenda.”
The firing was first reported by The Washington Post.
Loomer claimed Wednesday that she had a hand in Ghoreishi’s removal
from the State Department. She said he was affiliated with pro-Iran
groups and jihadists, which Ghoreishi denies.
Just days ago, the State Department said it was halting all visitor
visas for people from Gaza pending a review soon after Loomer had
posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the
U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas.
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