Google workers arrested after protesting company's work with Israel

[gorbot]

They said nimbus was for civilian use only, then time publishes an article saying they are dealing with the IDF directly and have a discount given that Nimbus exists…

https://time.com/6966102/google-contract-israel-defense-mini...

[torstenvl]

That isn't at all what the article says.

Every liberal democracy subscribes to the idea of civilian control of the military, so the distinction between civilian leadership and the military they oversee isn't a new or foreign concept.

Why would you assume MoD use = IDF use? Do you also assume everything the DoD contracts for is used by the U.S. Army?

[JamesAdir]

The same contract the exists between CIA and aws for it's top secret regions. I always ponder why people protest against something that happens thousands of miles from their homes, while the same activity occurs in their own country.

[m00x]

It's pretty weak proof. It only says some part of it was billed to the ministry of defense. Who knows what it was used for? It could be their HR, billing, etc.

[rdtsc]

> Anti-Semitism appears to be rampant throughout Google’s workforce.

If someone would have told me 5 years ago that in just a few years, Google employees would be accused of anti-semitism, or any -ism, really, I would have never believed it. They were on the frontlines "punching nazis" and fighting rising fascism here in US, and here they are, being accused of anti-semitism, themselves.

[givemeethekeys]

I can see both sides: Yes, Google offices are private property. Yes, Google is an American company - if Google's employees don't agree with an American company serving America and its allies - Israel has been an ally for a long time - then, they should leave for more agreeable pastures. They can even remove Google from their resume once they've found a better resume brand.

However, If I were an employee at Google, and my company had begun serving DoD / IDF against my wishes - then, I would have a better chance of changing this from inside the company than from outside. So, speaking out internally against taking on undesirable customers seems like a more effective tactic than quitting.

But, by protesting in the way they did, they've likely ensured that they will no longer be inside the company.

[greyface-]

Videos of the arrests:

https://www.twitch.tv/notech4apartheid/clip/BloodyExquisiteP...

https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1780432300548804637

[ionwake]

I have no idea what happened but I always love it when people get cross over improper behaviour such as grey hat work or “sitting protests” at the worlds largest corp … on a website called hackernews

[cad31]

I am with you but unfortunately the sense of "hacker" here is closer to what it is in "hackaton".

A "hackaton" is an event where ivy league students compete to write sloppy code using APIs from different corporations. They also get branded t-shirts and free redbull (paid by said corporations).

[KingOfCoders]

You might have a misunderstanding of the term "hacker".

[mikaeluman]

Looking at the details provided by dailywire it's perfectly understandable why these people were arrested.

Had it been my workplace I would have wished for the same thing.

[NeverFade]

They didn't just "protest" their company's work with Israel.

They took over company offices, including the office of Google Cloud CEO in Sunnyvale, and refused to vacate them for 9+ hours.

[sdenton4]

Yes... That's what protest looks like.

[cvoss]

It's important to remember, whenever a news headline reads "Y after X", that the headline does not actually claim "Y because of X". I find it a frustrating misdirection by the newspaper to employ such headlines, since they are so easy to misread in that way.

[CommanderData]

Historically civil rights protest movement have been disruptive. Protesting a genocide arguably be even more disruptive.

- Stonewall Riots (1969)

- Soweto Uprising (1976)

- Tiananmen Square protests (1989)

- Women's Suffrage Movement

- Anti-Apartheid Protests in South Africa

US politician are hostages, opposing Israel on the political stage puts your life at risk.

[mitchbob]

https://archive.ph/fE96t

[locallost]

Congratulations to people with morals. There's always few of them in the present, but also few of them historically. But we remember them more then people looking the other way out of convenience.

[feverzsj]

They should've protested outside, not disturbing others.

[jart]

That's like saying Occupy Wall Street should have protested in the Bronx, so they wouldn't disturb Wall Street.

[cess11]

That wouldn't be a protest.

[faeriechangling]

The people inside should maybe, I don't know, not be working at a company aiding and abetting apartheid and expecting to not be disturbed? Seems like putting up with a few disturbances is a small price to pay given the high compensation you'll get for working at google. These people will be quickly escorted outside the building by police and fired anyways.

[14]

For once I see a post that needs to be locked as all it is going to do is bring the worst out in HN crowd. I think we are quickly crossing into "Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. That tramples curiosity."

[xyst]

I wonder what it would take to insert the equivalent of a “thermal vent” into the ”all-encompassing cloud solution” for the Israeli government. Maybe give the Israeli government private cloud the “us-east1” treatment during critical Israeli milops.

Losing a $1.2B contract for Amazon or Google due to subterfuge is nothing.

Wonder how the US government would respond though, especially since Israeli government is one of their most highly regarded allies (highest amount of foreign aide, critical trade partners). Would the people who inserted exploit into Project Nimbus be prosecuted for espionage?

[int_19h]

Given that Mossad likes to abduct or assassinate those who crossed Israel somehow, they'd just need to look the other way when that happens.

[throwaway4good]

This shouldn't be flagged.

[dunekid]

Land of the free. Indeed it is.

[zadokshi]

Freedom on full display. Employees free to break their employment contract. Employer free to fire them.

Let me guess, you want power to control what people and companies can or can not do? I don’t trust you enough to put you in control of that.

[malta_kano]

next time lets protest at your house / business :)

[anon291]

Yes free to own things that other people cannot appropriate..

[NeverFade]

In what form of government is a vocal minority of activist workers allowed to take over their employer's place of business?

Please don't say "communism" as they would be sent to the gulag or worse in every communist regime that has ever existed.

[kleton]

"Bring your whole self to work."

[torstenvl]

Your whole self isn't all of your behaviors. It doesn't mean proselytize your religion at work. It doesn't mean engage in sexual activity at work. It doesn't mean spend 1/3 of your time at work asleep.

A person can be authentic without being inappropriate.

[musicale]

"Bring your professional facade to work" is usually better advice.

[HKH2]

Yep, be careful what you wish for. It's not exactly congruent with being professional.

[rdtsc]

"So we know who to get rid of"

[VirusNewbie]

Yet these clowns happily pay their taxes that end up supporting isreal. What a joke or performative empathy.

Good news is there should be some reqs opening up soon in Google Cloud for people looking for work.

[drewbug01]

“We should improve society somewhat.”

“Yet you participate in society. Curious!”

[lebean]

I hope so, these protestors are accepting blood money every time a direct deposit from Google hits their bank account or their stocks vest! Surely they'd want to keep their moral integrity intact and quit if their demands are not met.

[dingi]

All the more reason to just do your job an leave. Remember why are you getting paid before engaging in these kind of stupid things.

[cad31]

You are saying they are get paid to stay quiet about this kind of thing?

[drak0n1c]

Regardless of your opinion of the Daily Wire, they have an in-depth article with details that the Washington Post omitted. With hyperlinks to each source:

https://www.dailywire.com/news/google-employees-occupy-offic...

[m1n7]

doesn't matter how "in-depth" it is, it's still the daily wire and not trustworthy

[arrowsmith]

Why is everybody in every photo still wearing masks in 2024? Are there seriously still places where this is considered normal?

[KingOfCoders]

Never understood people who work for an employer with whom they don't agree.