Google employees storm U.S. offices to protest billion-dollar Israel contract
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Google employees, some wearing headscarves, forced their way into multiple offices around the United States to protest the company’s ties to the Israeli government.
On Tuesday, staffers — some wearing kaffiyehs, traditional Palestinian headscarves — blew past security at the tech giant’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., where they made their way to the office Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, while other workers staged a sit-in at the New York City office, the New York Post reported.
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The pro-Palestinian employees were part of the group “No Tech For Apartheid,” and shared images and video from their protest.
The activists also read statements denouncing the company over its $1.2-billion contract with the Israel government.
In one of the group’s posts on X, it reported, “They refuse to leave until Google stops powering the genocide in Gaza,” referring to Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists.
The protesting workers demanded that Google cancel its involvement with “Project Nimbus” — a $1.2 billion contract with Israel that involves Google Cloud as well as Amazon Web Services.
The project was originally announced in April 2021, but the conflict in the Middle East has put it back under an even brighter spotlight.
Tech employees at both Google and Amazon have grown increasingly concerned that the technology could be used by Israel’s military against Palestinians, the outlet reported.
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Videos show writing on Kurian’s whiteboard that depict pro-Palestinian slogans, demands and statements, accusing the company of “harassment, bullying and censorship” of its Arab and Muslim employees.
Other demonstrators were seen on the 10th floor of Google’s offices in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan in a protest called “No Tech for Genocide Day of Action,” joining their comrades in Seattle protesting the same action.
Another video shared on the group’s Twitch account shows Googlers getting arrested by law enforcement, allegedly for trespassing.
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