Google sacks staff protesting over Israeli contract
Google has terminated the employment of 28 individuals who participated in demonstrations against a collaboration the tech giant has with the Israeli government.
Under a joint agreement with Amazon valued at $1.2 billion (£960 million), known as Project Nimbus, Google provides cloud computing and AI infrastructure to Israel’s governmental and military sectors.
Members associated with the protest organization No Tech For Apartheid staged protests at Google’s offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, including sit-ins.
Google clarified that Project Nimbus does not involve highly sensitive, classified, or military-related tasks related to weaponry or intelligence services.
The company stated that protesters were disrupting office operations, physically obstructing other employees’ tasks, and hindering access to facilities.
Google confirmed to the BBC that the dismissals have exacerbated long-standing tensions between the company and employees who oppose providing technology to the Israeli government.
Marches were held last year, following the start of the war in Gaza in October, with protesters holding banners that read “No More Genocide For Profit”.
In the most recent protests, staff entered offices and refused to leave prompting Google to call law enforcement.
In a statement Google called the behaviour “completely unacceptable”.
McDonalds said it will buy back all of its Israeli restaurants after sales suffered from a boycott of the brand over its perceived support for Israel.
Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during the Israeli military operations that began after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.
More than 33,900 people have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, during Israel’s military campaign to destroy Hamas and release the hostages, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
