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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Google backed Israel’s military. Now its workers are in revolt</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">By Areeb Ullah</div>
<div class="gmail-meta-data">
<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">October 8, 2024<br></div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Dozens
of workers have been sacked by the tech giant for speaking up for
Palestinians against Project Nimbus - but others say they won’t be
silenced</p><div><p>It's early morning, and Zelda Montes walks briskly
through the crisp New York air as they head to Google's headquarters on
Manhattan’s 9th Avenue.</p>
<p>Montes, who self-identifies as they, fumbles with their ID card at
the entrance, blending in with the steady stream of Googlers swiping
through the security barriers as if it were just another day at the
office.</p>
<p>Armed with an oversized tote bag, Montes pulls back their purple hair
and heads to the 13th-floor canteen to order their usual: a dirty chai
and an egg, avocado, and cheese sandwich with a bowl of raspberries.
Their hands tremble slightly as they grip the coffee cup.</p>
<p>Locking eyes with two others, they get the signal that the coast is clear, head down to the entrance, and sit.</p>
<p>The three Googlers unfurl their banners and begin chanting to demand that Google do one thing: Drop Project Nimbus.</p>
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<p>But this will be the last time they sit inside Google's New York
office as Googlers, as Google itself refers to its own employees.</p>
<p>"Getting fired felt like a possibility but never a reality," remarked
Montes, one of 50 employees fired by Google for staging a 10-hour
sit-in at one of its American offices in April.</p>
<p>For the last three years, Montes has been one of several activists calling for Google to drop <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/video/project-nimbus-amazon-employee-speaks-out-against-billion-dollar-contract-israeli-army" target="_blank">Project Nimbus</a>, a partnership Google and Amazon have with the Israeli government reportedly worth $1.2bn.</p>
<p>The partnership, which focuses on cloud computing, provides services
to various branches of the Israeli government, including the defence
ministry and the army.</p>
<p>Google, which has not responded to questions sent by MEE prior to
publication of this article, has insisted in previous statements that
Nimbus "is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military
workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services".</p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9ru0" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/for%20areeb.jpg" width="435" height="244" alt="Google workers unfurl banner during sit-in at the company's Manhattan office (Supplied)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Google workers unfurl banner during sit-in at the company's Manhattan office in New York City (Supplied)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9rx1" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9rz2" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>Working
secretly, some Googlers - past and present from around the world - have
been actively trying to organise workers to pressure the company to
drop Nimbus and reveal the extent of its involvement with the Israeli
army.</p>
<p>And since Israel began its war on Gaza, following the 7 October
Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel, which have killed more than 41,000
Palestinians in the besieged enclave, calls to drop Nimbus have
intensified. Some employees have staged physical and virtual protests
against the deal over fears that Google is enabling Israel to use their
work, particularly involving artificial intelligence technologies, to
further what many see as an unfolding genocide.</p>
<p>But some employees say they have been met with an intense crackdown
from Google, which they say has denied claims by activists that its
technology has been involved or played a role in Israel's brutal
campaign in Gaza and ongoing occupation – deemed illegal by the
International Court of Justice – of the West Bank.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'I had colleagues who were understandably apprehensive about speaking out and worried about the consequences'</p>
<p>- <em>Zelda Montes, former Google employee</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The mass firings marked a turning point for the company as it
grappled with an internal battle among its employees over the war in
Gaza.</p>
<p>Middle East Eye has spoken to Googlers who work in the tech giant's
offices in the US and parts of Europe. Many requested anonymity because
of their concerns that they too could lose their jobs for speaking out
publicly.</p>
<p>These workers, who work in various branches of the company, explained
how they organised from within and how Google and their colleagues
tried to stop their activism by censoring them, firing them, and
threatening some of them by turning the company into a "hostile work
environment". Some still work for the company, while others have been <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-google-fires-employee-after-pro-palestine-protest-israeli-tech-conference" target="_blank">fired</a> or have left in protest.</p>
<p>Some who spoke to MEE have been organising by themselves and with a
group called No Tech for Apartheid - which has campaigned to end the
Silicon Valley tech industry’s complicity in what it describes as
Israel’s “ongoing ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the recent genocidal
bombing of Gaza”.</p>
<p>Google did not respond to Middle East Eye's repeated requests for comment. </p>
<p>Starting as an intern, Montes worked as a software engineer at Google for two years on YouTube Search and Learning.</p>
<p>"Working for Google was a means to an end to survive to pay for things like rent and food in New York," explains Montes.</p>
<p>"And I had colleagues who were understandably apprehensive about speaking out and worried about the consequences.</p>
<p>"But I didn't want to be complicit, and if it meant that Google was
going to retaliate against me or allow for a bunch of harassment against
me to persist, then so be it."</p>
<h3>Concerns ignored by Google</h3>
<p>Montes, like many other colleagues in different parts of the company,
started small by raising questions and concerns about whether Israel
was using their work to wage its war on Gaza within their direct teams.</p>
<p>Early on, Montes, for example, joined other colleagues and used a
YouTube town hall to question why Google was taking money from the
Israeli government to run propaganda adverts, after the 7 October
attacks, against the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), the United
Nations agency that provides support for Palestinian refugees.</p>
<p>At Google and its parent company, Alphabet, town hall or all-hands
meetings are company-wide and typically run in a hybrid format, allowing
in-person and virtual participation to accommodate the company's global
workforce.</p>
<p>These sessions are presented as opportunities for employees to ask
leadership direct questions, fostering open dialogue about key projects,
policies, and concerns.</p>
<p>As a company, Google has sought to make a virtue of a culture of
openness that encourages employees by enabling them to raise questions
and share their interests at the workplace.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'Anytime we would bring up Project Nimbus in the internal chat or
during all-hands meetings, the questions would get moderated out or
avoided'</p>
<p>- <em>Zelda Montes, former Google employee</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet, according to Googlers who spoke to MEE, Palestine seemed to be the company's exception.</p>
<p>Montes says their concerns over YouTube taking money from Israel to
run "propaganda adverts" were ignored by the YouTube leadership,
prompting Montes and others to try other avenues.</p>
<p>"People would post questions during our all-hands meetings," recalled
Montes. "Anytime we would bring up Project Nimbus in the internal chat
or during all-hands meetings, the questions would get moderated out or
avoided."</p>
<p>Similar concerns were raised by Googlers who work in the company's
artificial intelligence division, also known as DeepMind, but staff said
these were also ignored by the company.</p>
<p>Ten days after the 7 October attacks by Hamas into southern Israel,
Google's CEO Sundar Pichai told his employees in an email that the
company <a href="https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/israel-hamas-war-relief/" target="_blank">planned to donate $8 million </a>to support relief efforts in Israel and Gaza.</p>
<p>Pichai also used his email to condemn rising antisemitism and
Islamophobia and acknowledged concerns around the rising death toll and
humanitarian crisis in Gaza.</p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/GoogleActivistsProtestingNImbusNewYork2023.jpg" width="435" height="245" alt="Google employees staging a sit-in inside Google's office in New York City (Supplied)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Google employees staging a sit-in inside Google's office in New York City against Project Nimbus (Supplied)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9s33" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9s44" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>Google is no stranger to political activism within its ranks. In previous years, the company has seen walkouts by Googlers over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/01/google-walkout-global-protests-employees-sexual-harassment-scandals" target="_blank">sexual harassment claims</a>, hate speech and its contracts with the Chinese government.</p>
<p>In 2018, thousands of Google employees protested a Pentagon contract dubbed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/technology/google-letter-ceo-pentagon-project.html" target="_blank">Project Maven </a>that used the company's artificial intelligence technology to analyse drone surveillance footage.</p>
<p>The action led Google to cave into its employees' demands and not
renew its contract with the Pentagon. However, Pichai did tell his
workers that the company would continue bidding for defence contracts.</p>
<p>In 2021,<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestine-google-project-nimbus-employee-accuses-profiteering-pain" target="_blank"> Ariel Koren quit Google</a> after the company tried to make her relocate her to Brazil after she raised concerns over Nimbus.</p>
<p>Following in the footsteps of Koren and others who came before them,
Montes and workers in North America and Europe began flooding internal
forums and creating discussions internally about Project Nimbus after
Israel began its bombardment of Gaza.</p>
<p>These interventions took place virtually and physically on Google's campuses worldwide.</p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9s65" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/GoogleWalkoutSexualHarassment2018AFP.jpg" width="435" height="245" alt="Google workers in London take part in a global walk out against the company's handling of sexual harassment in 2018 (AFP)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Google workers in London take part in a global walkout against the company's handling of sexual harassment in 2018 (AFP)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9s96" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sa7" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>Googlers
used internal forums and mail threads to virtually connect with
like-minded fellow workers in the company's offices worldwide. These
forums, which take the form of mailing lists and message boards, are
often divided into shared interests, identities, or causes.</p>
<p>"These forums were the vessels through which everything would be organised at Google," explains Montes.</p>
<p>Montes and fellow activists would use these networks to raise awareness and discuss the company's involvement in Nimbus.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'Whenever the words genocide or apartheid would come up, the
moderators would delete the comments straight away without any warning
or lock the forums'</p>
<p>- <em>Alex Cheung, ex-Google employee</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Like Montes, Alex Cheung was involved in No Tech for Apartheid and
regularly participated in internal email threads such as Google's
ethical forum to raise awareness about the project.</p>
<p>Both activists, as well as other Googlers who spoke to MEE, said they
experienced internal censorship from Google's team of moderators who
oversaw the message boards.</p>
<p>"Whenever the words genocide or apartheid would come up, the
moderators would delete the comments straight away without any warning
or lock the forums to prevent people engaging with it further,"
explained Cheung.</p>
<p>"It's like we didn't exist. Imagine the culture that is created when
you are talking about a form of oppression and watching your employer
delete it in real-time."</p>
<p>Sometimes the message boards would also be disrupted by pro-Israel
staff. Some would post messages using the words genocide or apartheid in
an effort to get discussion of these issues shut down, or warn other
users that discussing Nimbus or Israel violated Google's policies and
threaten to report participants to HR, accusing them of harassment and
causing offence.</p>
<p>"It was so common to see message boards be shut down," explained
Hasan, who is Syrian by descent and a former software developer for
Google in New York.</p>
<p>"In the end, the managers said moderators banned the word genocide
because it caused too much disruption internally - but it felt like just
another form of intimidation that favoured</p>
<p>pro-Israeli voices."</p>
<p>One Googler who is Jewish told MEE that the Jewish Google group, also
known as "Jewglers", would be "dominated by pro-Israeli voices who
would organise against Jews who would bring up Nimbus and possible
Israeli war crimes”.</p>
<p>Despite assurances from Pinchai that the company would take issues of
Islamophobia seriously, when pro-Palestine Googlers faced intimidation
from pro-Israel colleagues, the company, according to them, would ignore
their concerns and not take any action.</p>
<p>"There was a culture of ignorance from management that turned a blind
eye to the abuse we would get online and offline," said Hasan.</p>
<p>Last November, dozens of Palestinian and Muslim Googlers <a href="https://medium.com/@notechforapartheid/googleopenletter-868f0c4477db" target="_blank">signed an open letter </a>which
accused Google of "turning a blind eye" after they said Palestinians
had been called "animals" and accused of "supporting terrorism" on
internal forums by fellow Googlers.</p>
<p>It noted an example of a manager within the company's US offices who
had questioned Muslim or Arab Googlers on "whether they support Hamas"
or where their "sympathies" lay by supporting Palestine.<span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sc8" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sd9" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/ProjectNimbusDieinNotech4apartheid.jpeg" width="435" height="245" alt="Tech workers and activists stage a die-in to protest Google's Project Nimbus (Supplied: No Tech 4 Apartheid)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Tech workers and activists stage a die-in to protest Google's Project Nimbus (Supplied: No Tech 4 Apartheid)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9se10" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sf11" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>The
letter also recorded one instance where an Arab and Muslim Googler was
told to "refrain from making comments in support of Palestinians or even
acknowledging the Israeli occupation under the guise of being
'respectful in the workplace.'"</p>
<p>The abuse would come in the form of confrontations in the canteen, being reported to HR and doxxed on internal pages.</p>
<p>One Google employee, who is of Muslim origin, told MEE that his
managers singled him out after he sent an email calling on colleagues to
support Palestine. This employee was issued a verbal warning by Google
and was told by HR that they could be disciplined further without
specifying the punishment.</p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sf12" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/01/google-intern-gaza-israel-military-contract-project-nimbus" target="_blank">Guardian </a>and the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/15/google-israel-gaza-nimbus-protest/" target="_blank">Intercept </a>reported
a similar incident last November when the company singled out Mohammad
Khatami, a software engineer, from a group of Googlers who sent an email
advertising a memorial event for Gaza. Khatami, who is Muslim, was
ordered to attend a meeting with HR but declined to say what the outcome
of the meeting was.</p>
<p>Googlers noted that the company's reaction to their activism starkly
contrasted with its response to the war in Ukraine, which was noticed
not just in the US but worldwide.</p>
<p>"When the war in Ukraine kicked off, Google sent out a message of
support for Ukrainians and Russians working for the company," noted
Clare Ward, who requested a pseudonym due to fears of retribution from
Google.</p>
<p>"I just remember seeing much more visible solidarity with Ukraine
with fundraising campaigns and people putting up Ukrainian flags next to
their name.</p>
<p>"And generally speaking, some people have a Palestine flag or a 'Free
Palestine' next to their name, but that is not without internal threats
from managers warning us off about being public with our support for
Palestine.</p>
<p>"Generally, there was an open political space that allowed us to
speak freely and openly about political issues. But nowhere near as much
moderation and shutting down of conversation as we have seen with
Palestine."</p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/MaiUbeidGoogleProtestNewYorkDieIn.jpeg" width="435" height="245" alt="Pro-Palestine demonstrators held a march to commemorate the death of software engineer Mai Ubeid in Gaza (Supplied)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Pro-Palestine demonstrators held a march in December 2023
outside Google San Francisco to commemorate the death of software
engineer Mai Ubeid in Gaza (Supplied)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sg13" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sh14" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>When
the censorship took place virtually, Googlers slowly moved their
activism away from the keyboard and onto Google's campuses.</p>
<p>This activism would take the form of "tabling," where Montes and
other Googlers in the US, London, and Amsterdam would sit in the canteen
during the day with a sign that read "Ask me about Nimbus" to educate
and encourage colleagues to sign a petition.</p>
<p>"People would come up to us often to ask what Nimbus was, and we
would happily talk to them because the company doesn't tell them about
it," explained Montes.</p>
<p>The activists would try to organise events and film screenings to
educate their colleagues about Palestine. Google's management shut down
these events, irrespective of whether they were in London or Los
Angeles, citing safety concerns.</p>
<p>One screening, scheduled to take place during Arab Heritage Month in April 2024, was among events cancelled by Google.</p>
<h3>Firing of workers </h3>
<p>Things came to a head when Israeli bombs killed a Palestinian
software engineer, Mai Ubeid, and her whole family in Gaza in late
October 2023. Ubeid graduated from a Google-funded coding boot camp in
Gaza called Sky Geeks and later interned at a firm that was part of the
Google for Startups accelerator in 2020.</p>
<p>Googlers organised vigils outside its offices in New York, Seattle and <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-google-staff-protest-gaza-employee-cooperation" target="_blank">London </a>for Ubeid, who was disabled and wheelchair-bound.</p>
<p>These vigils were met with hostility from Google and colleagues.
Ward, who worked from the London office, noted an instance where a
pro-Israeli employee "harassed" Googlers handing out leaflets about the
vigil for Ubeid.</p>
<p>Like other Googlers who spoke to MEE, Ward said her manager had
encouraged her to stop organising for Nimbus and speaking out against
the project.</p>
<p>Some were issued warnings by their managers for handing out leaflets
related to Ubeid and reminded of the company's policies against
leafleting on company property. They believe Google used CCTV and
pictures taken by pro-Israel colleagues who sent them to human resources
to identify them.</p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/cropped-File.jpg" width="435" height="245" alt="Google employees in Sunnyvale California staged a sit-in inside Thomas Kurian who heads Google Cloud (Supplied)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Google employees in Sunnyvale California staged a sit-in inside the office of Thomas Kurian who heads Google Cloud (Supplied)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9si15" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sj16" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>Some
relayed concerns by their peers that they were "afraid" to speak out
because their senior manager had previously served in the Israeli army’s
Unit 8200, an elite Israeli intelligence unit that specialises in cyber
espionage, surveillance and intelligence gathering.</p>
<p>Like many tech companies, Google has a track record of hiring former
members of Unit 8200, many of whom go on to careers in Israel’s own
thriving tech sector and are highly regarded for their technological
skills.</p>
<p>Hostility at the workplace became so severe that Googlers began
meeting off-site to plan next steps to organise - including passing
petitions in person to avoid any backlash from Google.</p>
<p>Workers, including Montes, Cheung and Hasan, decided to stage a
sit-in at the company's offices in New York City and Sunnyvale,
California. Activists occupied the entrance to the company's offices and
the office of Google Cloud chief executive Thomas Kurian for 10 hours.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>'We believe, as the IDF claims, that Google's cloud tech is giving
Israel a significant technical military edge, and we don't want to be
involved in that'</p>
<p>- <em>Oscar, Google DeepMind worker</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The company called in the police and<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-google-fires-employee-after-pro-palestine-protest-israeli-tech-conference" target="_blank"> fired 28 workers </a>on the spot and 22 others after an investigation that involved analysing CCTV footage.</p>
<p>The day after, Chris Rackow, Google's head of security and a former
US Navy Seal, sent a memo warning employees to "think again" if they
planned to protest in its offices.</p>
<p>But despite the firings and months of intimidation, many remaining
Google workers are determined to continue their campaign against Nimbus.</p>
<p>Google did not respond to questions on why it fired the employees but
told the Guardian at the time: "We continued our investigation into the
physical disruption inside our buildings on April 16, looking at
additional details provided by coworkers who were physically disrupted,
as well as those employees who took longer to identify because their
identity was partly concealed – like by wearing a mask without their
badge – while engaged in the disruption.</p>
<p>"Our investigation into these events is now concluded, and we have
terminated the employment of additional employees who were found to have
been directly involved in disruptive activity.”</p>
<h3>'Existential crisis' </h3>
<p>In August, more than 200 workers inside Google DeepMind <a href="https://time.com/7013685/google-ai-deepmind-military-contracts-israel/" target="_blank">signed a petition</a> urging the company to drop Project Nimbus and pledging to never work on military contracts.</p>
<p>Oscar, who declined to give his surname, signed this petition and
noted that DeepMind's leadership had not responded to the petition
directly.</p>
<p>Based in the UK, Oscar was more confident that his job would be safe
if he openly spoke about Nimbus because of British laws protecting
workers' rights. But he acknowledged his activism would "limit" his
career progression within DeepMind.</p>
<p>"It feels like being in a golden prison. We are compensated very well
working for DeepMind. I worked hard to get to my position, but for the
first time in my career, I feel very uneasy with what we are doing,"
said Oscar.</p>
<p>"We believe, as the IDF claims, that Google's cloud tech is giving
Israel a significant technical military edge, and we don't want to be
involved in that.</p>
<p>"Many researchers and engineers at DeepMind don't want our AI models
being used for military purposes and DeepMind still claims it's not
happening, despite our models being taken having no visibility on how
that gets used."</p>
<div>
<p><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/GoogleProtestLondonOfficeMohamedFaour.jpg" width="435" height="245" alt="Pro-Palestine activists stage a protest outside Google's office in Central London (MEE/Mohammad Saleh)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></p>
Pro-Palestine activists stage a protest outside Google's office in Central London (MEE/Mohammad Saleh)</div>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sk17" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span></p>
<p><span><img src="cid:ii_m21go9sl18" alt="image.gif" width="15" height="15"></span>Many within DeepMind and Google believe Nimbus is a small part of Google's strategy.</p>
<p>Ward acknowledged that an AI arms race and the emergence of Open AI's
Chat GPT is forcing Google to re-evaluate its identity as a company
because they are having "an existential crisis”.</p>
<p>"If you look at the tech landscape right now, Google is losing the
battle over artificial intelligence and how people are using it," said
Ward.</p>
<p>"My manager would bring up Chat GPT and Open AI every other day.
There is pressure from the top and we feel it on the ground level."</p>
<p>Oscar echoes Ward's reflections on the company, highlighting
DeepMind's pivot towards creating AI products like Chat GPT, and
believes Nimbus represents something more significant for Google.</p>
<p>"The money we know of for Nimbus is not big, but it sounds like they
just want to position themselves for military contracts in general,"
said Oscar.</p>
<p>"They will not be backing down. That is more important to Google than what a fraction of employees in the company think.”</p>
<p><em>Main photo: A demonstrator wears a Google-themed protest T-shirt in Seattle in May 2024 (Reuters)</em></p>
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