Maj. Harrison Mann, a Jewish American working for the Defense Intelligence Agency, has resigned from the US Army, citing the country’s “nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel,” which he claims has “enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians.”
Mann, a 13-year US Army veteran who worked in the Middle East office, spoke with CBS News senior national correspondent Jim Axelrod for his first televised interview since leaving his position. Mann resigned in November, and his separation from the military became effective on Monday.
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More than six US government officials have officially resigned in protest of the country’s support for Israel’s war, but Mann is the first from the military or intelligence establishment.
“I understand if people are angry that I chose to speak about this, but I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice,” Mann stated to Axelrod.
The Defense Intelligence Agency official confirmed Mann’s assignment to the agency to CBS News. “Employee resignations are a routine occurrence at DIA as they are at other employers, and employees resign their positions for any number of reasons and motivations,” added the official.
Mann told “CBS Mornings” that U.S. weapons have aided Israel’s operations in Gaza, implying that Israel has indiscriminately shot Palestinian people since responding to Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid and continued seizure of Jewish captives.
“I don’t know how you kill 35,000 civilians by accident,” Mann replied.
Mann, the grandson of Jews who fled Eastern Europe’s antisemitism, expressed his disapproval of Israel’s current response to the “never again” cry that inspired Jews during the Holocaust.
“They’re not responding in a way that is productive for the security of the state of Israel or Jews worldwide,” Mann stated. “I am confident that it is some form of ethnic cleansing. “I don’t believe it is in the spirit of ‘never again’.”
Mann said, “If the need to protect Jewish life truly motivates you, you should advocate for [Israel] to end the war and manage it in a manner that doesn’t turn the world against them.” That is bad news for Israel’s near- and long-term security.”
After the Biden administration produced an assessment in May that found instances where Israel’s behavior violated “international humanitarian law,” Mann decided to make his retirement public, but the administration decided not to cut off US aid.
“The weakness of that justification struck me,” Mann says.
The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry estimates that Israel’s ground and air operations in Gaza have killed over 36,000 civilians, although this figure has not been independently verified. The UN is seeking to confirm the casualties. The IDF has reported that about 15,000 Hamas militants have been killed in Gaza.
