Google employee arrested for protesting cooperation with Israel



Nine Google employees were arrested after a sit-in at their offices in protest of the company's partnership with the Israeli government.

Google workers stage sit-ins to protest company's work with Israel - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/16/google-sit-in-employee-protest-nimbus-israel/



Google was selected by the Israeli government as a provider of public cloud services in 2021, becoming a collaborator to help address public sector challenges in the country, including healthcare, transportation, and education. The partnership, called '

Project Nimbus ,' is expected to last for at least seven years.

However, just before Project Nimbus was announced in May 2021, armed conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip broke out, and criticism spread both inside and outside the company that the plan 'supports genocide and apartheid.' This led to numerous protests and some employees being fired .



Another clash occurred in October 2023, further intensifying criticism within the company.

According to a report from the Washington Post, a total of nine employees were arrested at Google offices in Sunnyvale, California, and New York City around April 16, 2024.

Sit-ins have been held at both offices to protest Google's cooperation with the Israeli government, with protesters vowing to stay at the offices until Google meets their demands to pull out of the contract.

However, police showed up and demanded that the employees leave, and when they refused, they were taken away.

In response to the incident, Google issued a statement saying, 'Physically interfering with other employees' work or preventing employees from entering our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and we will investigate and take action. Employees who participated in the protest have been placed on administrative leave and their access to our systems has been cut off. They refused multiple requests to leave, which led to law enforcement removing them to ensure the safety of our offices.'

Protests have intensified since October 2023, with protesters blocking traffic on a busy road outside a Google office in San Francisco, California in December. In early March 2024, an employee was fired for standing up and protesting during a speech by a top Google executive in Israel.




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