Google Sponsors Israeli Technology Conference, 600 Employees Call for Boycott
More than 600 Google employees are urging the company to cut ties with the Israeli technology conference. Photo: Zhang Yi/Getty Images
NEW YORK - More than 600 Google employees have signed a letter asking the company they work for to cancel sponsorship of Mind the Tech, an annual conference promoting Israel's tech industry that took place in New York this week.
“Please cancel Mind the Tech, issue an apology, and stand with Google employees and users who are deeply concerned about the loss of life in Gaza. We want Google to do better," the letter, seen by WIRED, said.
Mind the Tech lasts two days, starting last Monday with a series of discussions focused on the technology industry, and concluding on Tuesday.
The conference aims to highlight the resilience of Israel's technology industry, especially in the face of Israel's economic downturn following the Hamas militant attack on October 7.
Around 1,200 Israelis were killed, but Israel's military campaign in Gaza actually killed 30,000 Palestinians as of March 4 2024.
Google Engineer Shouts to Show Protest
On Monday, remarks at a conference by Barak Regev, managing director of Google Israel, were interrupted by a Google Cloud software engineer who shouted that his work should not be used for surveillance and genocide.
He was joined by activists from the anti-Zionist groups Israel Shoresh and Jewish Voices for Peace.
“I don't see any way to continue my engineering work without doing this,” the Google engineer later told Hell Gate, speaking anonymously.
“I consider this part of my job, and I hope other engineers at Google Cloud see this, and make them aware,". Both activists were forced to leave the event.
Google Gold Sponsor of Israel Tech Event
Google is the "gold" sponsor of Mind the Tech, according to the event's official website. Although, it is not clear what financial commitments are included in it.
Zelda Montes, a software engineer at YouTube who attended Monday's protest outside the conference, told WIRED that worker solidarity is especially important in the context of "Israeli AI technology being used in surveillance and genocide against the Palestinian people."
Google Sponsori Konferensi Teknologi Israel, 600 Karyawan Serukan Boikot
Lebih dari 600 karyawan Google mendesak perusahaan untuk memutuskan hubungan dengan konferensi teknologi Israel. Foto: Zhang Yi/Getty Images
NEW YORK - Lebih dari 600 karyawan Google telah menandatangani surat agar perusahaan tempat mereka bekerja membatalkan sponsor untuk Mind the Tech, konferensi tahunan yang mempromosikan industri teknologi Israel yang berlangsung di New York pekan ini.
“Tolong batalkan Mind the Tech, keluarkan permintaan maaf, dan berdirilah bersama karyawan Google dan pengguna yang sangat prihatin atas banyaknya korban jiwa di Gaza. Kami ingin Google melakukan yang lebih baik," bunyi surat tersebut yang dilihat oleh WIRED.
Mind the Tech berlangsung dua hari, dimulai Senin kemarin dengan serangkaian diskusi berfokus pada industri teknologi, dan ditutup pada hari Selasa.
Konferensi itu bertujuan untuk menyoroti ketahanan industri teknologi Israel, terutama dalam menghadapi kemerosotan ekonomi Israel menyusul serangan militan Hamas pada 7 Oktober.
Sekitar 1.200 warga Israel tewas, tapi kampanye militer Israel di Gaza justru menewaskan 30.000 orang Palestina terhitung hingga 4 Maret 2024.
Engineer Google Teriak untuk Tunjukkan Protes
Pada hari Senin, sambutan dalam konferensi oleh Barak Regev, managing director Google Israel, terganggu oleh seorang engineer software Google Cloud yang berteriak bahwa pekerjaannya tidak boleh digunakan untuk pengawasan dan genosida.
Ia bergabung dengan seorang aktivis dari kelompok anti-Zionis Israel Shoresh dan Jewish Voices for Peace.
“Saya tidak melihat cara apapun untuk meneruskan pekerjaan engineering saya tanpa melakukan hal ini," ujar engineer Google tersebut kemudian kepada Hell Gate, berbicara secara anonim.
“Saya menganggap ini sebagai bagian dari pekerjaan saya, dan saya harap engineer lain di Google Cloud melihat ini, dan menyadarkan mereka,". Kedua aktivis tersebut dipaksa keluar dari acara.
Google Sponsor Emas Acara Teknologi Israel
Google adalah sponsor "emas" dari Mind the Tech, menurut situs resmi acara. Meski, tidak jelas komitmen finansial apa yang tercakup di dalamnya.
Zelda Montes, seorang software engineer di YouTube yang menghadiri protes pada hari Senin di luar konferensi, mengatakan kepada WIRED bahwa solidaritas pekerja sangat penting dalam konteks "teknologi AI Israel yang digunakan dalam pengawasan dan genosida terhadap rakyat Palestina."