A coalition of Google and Amazon workers has published an open letter in the Guardian protesting the tech companies’ decision to supply the Israeli military and government with technology.
In an open letter published in the Guardian, a coalition of anonymous Google and Amazon workers has condemned an Israeli military technology contract called “Project Nimbus.” The project is a $1.2 billion contract to provide cloud data services for the Israeli military and government.
Alma Delia Garcia of New York Communities for Change speaks during a protest organized by New York Communities for Change and Make the Road New York in front of the Jeff Bezos’ Manhattan residence in New York on December 02, 2020. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
The employees claim that this technology will be used to harm innocent Palestinians and are calling on the tech giants to reject the Project Nimbus contract and all future contracts that could “harm our users.” The group stated that they want global technology workers and the international community to join them in building a world “where technology promotes safety and dignity for all.”
The open letter has reportedly been signed by more than 90 workers at Google and over 300 at Amazon. The letter states:
We have watched Google and Amazon aggressively pursue contracts with institutions like the US Department of Defense, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), and state and local police departments. These contracts are part of a disturbing pattern of militarization, lack of transparency and avoidance of oversight.
Continuing this pattern, our employers signed a contract called Project Nimbus to sell dangerous technology to the Israeli military and government. This contract was signed the same week that the Israeli military attacked Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – killing nearly 250 people, including more than 60 children. The technology our companies have contracted to build will make the systematic discrimination and displacement carried out by the Israeli military and government even crueler and deadlier for Palestinians.
Project Nimbus is a $1.2bn contract to provide cloud services for the Israeli military and government. This technology allows for further surveillance of and unlawful data collection on Palestinians, and facilitates expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
The letter states that the employees “envision a future where technology brings people together and makes life better for everyone,” and want Google and Amazon to stop contracting with Israel and all militarized organizations, including the U.S. military.
This isn’t the first time tech employees have protested over military contracts, Breitbart News reported in 2018 that around a dozen Google employees quit the firm in protest of a drone contract that Google signed with the Pentagon.
Read the full letter at The Guardian here.