On another level, advocates say, Rubio’s statement offers a worrisome sign that the Trump administration is crippling one of the few forums where critics of Israel can even have their arguments heard — albeit routinely ignored by the department’s top ranks.

“This ‘anti-Israel’ stuff is so deeply incorrect,” said Charles Blaha, who served as director of the human rights bureau’s office of security and human rights from 2016 until his 2023 retirement. “The tendency in the Department is exactly the opposite. The Department is pro-Israel to the point of overlooking gross violations of human rights. The Department closes its eyes to it.”