In May 2021, West Bank It was in the middle of one of the bloodiest periods of conflict in recent times. Israel And Palestine. Protests continue over the forced deportation of six Palestinian families from the eastern Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. JerusalemIt led to violent police intervention in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in the world. Islam. Palestinian group Hamas A wave of missiles were launched at the holy city – most of them were intercepted – and the Israeli army responded by bombing the holy city. Gaza StripIt caused the death of at least 230 people.
Government in those days Benjamin Netanyahu signed a controversial and mysterious alliance with Google And Amazon. The Hebrew State has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to two American tech giants to provide IT services. cloud computing Israeli public sector and its armyAn initiative called Project Nimbus.
Beyond their presence, Google and Amazon have not provided many details about their lucrative relationship with Israel. HE ‘cloud computing‘ allows access to services technology and more computing and storage power data. Both companies celebrated that the agreement will serve to “develop” the most innovative business ecosystem and thereby increase the “economic development of the entire country”.
However, the real beneficiary of the agreement was the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as its members are known. armed forces. According to many leaks, the strategic cloud infrastructure would serve to increase the security systems as well as the capabilities of the Iron Dome, known as Jerusalem’s advanced anti-missile shield. artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Israel’s intensified military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 18,200 people. deaths According to data received from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, a artificial intelligence A joint investigation by Israeli media +972 Magazine and Local Call revealed that the so-called “Bible” was used to select military and civilian targets.
Since this controversial alliance with Israel became official, hundreds of Google and Amazon employees have denounced Project Nimbus as “provoking Israel.” apartheid“Against the Palestinians.” The technology our companies agree on is discrimination The systematic displacements carried out by the Israeli army and government are much more brutal and deadly for Israel. Palestinians“, they condemned in a letter published in October 2021, five months after the agreement was signed.
As recently as 2021, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused the Hebrew State of crimes. crimes against humanity by speeding up job By the force of Palestinian lands Loop And West Bank. Cloud services of the two technology companies would enable the development of information technologies surveillance And oppression Aspect face recognition Weapons that Israel has deployed in the occupied Palestinian territories for years. Google and the Amazon cloud have also facilitated the work of the Israel Land Authority (ILA), the government agency that manages the land. illegal settlementsThus, we give wings to military expansionism.
During the period when violence increased in Israel, protests against Google and Amazon management gained weight. In August, during the annual Google Cloud conference in San Francisco, hundreds of employees spoke out about the “unconscionability” of the multinational company he leads. Sundar PichaiNot only for its agreement with the Hebrew State, but also for other lucrative contracts to provide technological surveillance tools to the border agency. United States of America.
Critical voices were raised following the devastating surprise attack launched by Hamas and Israel’s response. On November 9, a group of Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Google employees published a letter condemning “hate campaigns, harassment, and retaliation” within the company. racists Other workers who were not included in this statement also made it clear that “any criticism of the State of Israel can easily be perceived as a crime.” antisemitism“.
This isn’t the first time Google has punished upset employees. Gaza in August 2022 Ariel KorenA major critic of Project Nimbus, he resigned, stating that the computer giant had “systematically silenced Palestinian, Jewish, Arab and Muslim voices concerned about Google’s complicity in human rights abuses.” human rights Palestinians”.