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No Tech for Apartheid

Website:

www.notechforapartheid.com/
Type:

Anti-Israel Advocacy Group
Formation:

2021

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No Tech for Apartheid (NTA) is an organization of tech workers within Amazon and Google demanding that the companies end their involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract to provide technology services to Israel. NTA alleges Project Nimbus is being used to oppress and kill Palestinians. NTA’s website refers to Israel as an “apartheid” state engaged in “genocide.” 1 The organization’s name was inspired by #NoTechforICE, a similar campaign by Mijente targeted at tech companies that contracted with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 2

The organization greatly increased its presence and activity at the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023 with a series of protests that resulted in the firing of dozens of NTA-affiliated employees. 3 4

NTA is a project of Jewish Voice for Peace and MPower Change. NTA has received endorsements from numerous left-of-center, Islamic-related, and boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) groups. 5

Background

In 2021, Amazon and Google signed a $1.2 billion joint contract known as Project Nimbus with to provide the Israeli government with various technology services, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other systems that could potentially support Israel’s military. 6

Project Nimbus prompted backlash from left-wing Amazon and Google employees concerned about the company’s technology being used against Palestinians. 7 Some of these employees formed No Tech for Apartheid in 2021 to demand that their employers abandon Project Nimbus. 8

In response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, Israel launched a counterattack with the intention of destroying the Hamas-led regime acting as the de facto government of the Gaza Strip. NTA sided with Gaza in the conflict and accused Israel of waging an overly destructive military campaign, and possibly committing war crimes and genocide. 9

The outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict led NTA to greatly increase its membership and engage in more aggressive activism. According to a Time article from mid-April 2024, NTA has over 200 members among Google’s staff, and hundreds more are sympathetic. 10 11 12

NTA employees at Google expressed three primary concerns regarding Google’s involvement with Israel: First, in 2021, the Israeli Minister of Defense allegedly claimed that Project Nimbus would be used for military purposes; second, Google Cloud’s services have clear military applications; and third, Google is either unwilling or unable to track Israel’s use of its services. NTA has also criticized Google for the lack of transparency in Project Nimbus’s contracted services. 13

NTA claims that Google Photos are being used by Israel “as part of a facial recognition dragnet across Gaza, which has led to the arrest, imprisonment, and torture of thousands of Palestinians with little to no evidence.” 14

Although the full extent of Project Nimbus is unknown, it is known that Google is contracted to establish Google Cloud in Israel to assist the government in “large-scale data analysis, AI training, database hosting, and other forms of powerful computing using Google’s technology, with little oversight by the company.” 15 It is also known that there are components in the contract that prevent Amazon or Google from ending the contract prematurely or from preventing particular Israeli ministries (such as the Ministry of Defense) from accessing contracted technology. 16

Google has claimed that its work on Project Nimbus is directed at Israeli “ministries such as finance, healthcare, transportation, and education” and is not related to “highly sensitive or classified military” operations. Google’s official terms of service and acceptable use policy prohibits the use of Google services to engage in “violence that can cause death, serious harm, or injury.” 17

According to Time, “There is no evidence Google or Amazon’s technology has been used in killings of civilians.” Israel has acknowledged that AI targeting systems have been used in air strikes against Gaza which have resulted in collateral damage; however, there is no evidence that the relevant AI systems were built by Google or Amazon. 18

Activity

Since its founding in 2021, No Tech for Apartheid employees have distributed various petitions internally in Amazon and Google encouraging the end of Project Nimbus. NTA members claimed there is systemic discrimination by company moderators and other employees against pro-Palestinian employees, including efforts to block charitable donations to Gaza and the doxing of employees who expressed pro-Palestinian sentiments in private messages. 19

On April 16, 2024, NTA launched the “No Tech for Genocide Day of Action,” a sit-in protest across Google’s facilities. NTA announced its demands that Google stop Project Nimbus, stop engaging in alleged harassment and censorship of Muslim employees, and address an alleged ongoing health and safety crisis among employees being targeted for their anti-Israeli views. 20 Protesters reportedly occupied the office of Google Cloud chief executive officer Thomas Kurian to read their demands. Numerous offices reportedly had dozens of protestors. 21

Many employees have resigned or been fired by the Google and Amazon in response to their activism, including a 23-year-old Google engineer and NTA member who heckled a company presentation. 22 On April 23, Verge reported that Google fired 20 more protesting employees, bringing the total up to 48. 23 According to Bloomberg News, NTA’s protests have pushed Google to be less accepting of employee political activism. 24

NTA hosts a petition on its webpage demanding an end to Google and Amazon’s support for Project Nimbus. As of April 24, NTA’s petition has over 96,000 signatories, 25 up from 88,000 in mid-March. 26

Endorsements

As of April 2024, No Tech for Apartheid claims to have endorsements from at least 62 organizations. Many of these groups are associated with the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, such as the Canadian BDS Coalition and the Toronto BDS Network. Others are Islamic or Palestinian groups, such as CAIR, Palestine Legal, the Palestine Solidarity Network, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Adalah Justice Project, the Muslim Justice League, and the United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Others are broadly left-of-center groups, such as Data for Black Lives, the National Lawyers Guild, the Action Center on Race and the Economy, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and World Beyond War. 27

Parent Groups

No Tech for Apartheid is a project of  Jewish Voice for Peace and MPower Change. Jewish Voice for Peace is a group that opposes U.S. support for Israel and supports the BDS movement. MPower Change is an advocacy project of NEO Philanthropy co-founded by controversial Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour. 28

References

  1. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
  2. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
  3. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/.
  4. “Google Axes 20 More In Protest Fallout Over Israel Contract, Says Report.” Business Outlook India. April 23, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://business.outlookindia.com/corporate/google-axes-20-more-in-protest-fallout-over-israel-contract-says-report.
  5. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
  6. “What is Project Nimbus, and why are Google workers protesting Israel deal?” Al Jazeera. April 23, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/23/what-is-project-nimbus-and-why-are-google-workers-protesting-israel-deal.
  7. Solomon, Shoshanna. “Israel signs deal for cloud services with Google, Amazon.” The Times of Israel. May 24, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-signs-deal-for-cloud-services-with-google-amazon/.
  8. Gambetta, Daniele. “No Tech For Apartheid: «Google’s leadership encourages the dehumanisation of Palestinians».” Dinamo Press. March 15, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.dinamopress.it/news/no-tech-for-apartheid-googles-leadership-encourages-the-dehumanisation-of-palestinians/.
  9. Al Lawati, Abbas; McSweeny Eoin; Ebrahim, Nadeen. “Israel is at war with Hamas. Here’s what to know.” CNN. October 24, 2023. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/16/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-war-explained-week-2-mime-intl/index.html.
  10. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/.
  11. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
  12. Gambetta, Daniele. “No Tech For Apartheid: «Google’s leadership encourages the dehumanisation of Palestinians».” Dinamo Press. March 15, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.dinamopress.it/news/no-tech-for-apartheid-googles-leadership-encourages-the-dehumanisation-of-palestinians/.
  13. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/.
  14. “NO TECH FOR GENOCIDE DAY OF ACTION – APRIL 16.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/dayofaction.
  15. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/.
  16. Solomon, Shoshanna. “Israel signs deal for cloud services with Google, Amazon.” The Times of Israel. May 24, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-signs-deal-for-cloud-services-with-google-amazon/.
  17. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/
  18. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/.
  19. Gambetta, Daniele. “No Tech For Apartheid: «Google’s leadership encourages the dehumanisation of Palestinians».” Dinamo Press. March 15, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.dinamopress.it/news/no-tech-for-apartheid-googles-leadership-encourages-the-dehumanisation-of-palestinians/.
  20. “NO TECH FOR GENOCIDE DAY OF ACTION – APRIL 16.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/dayofaction.
  21. Rumpf-Whitten, Sarah. “’Googlers against genocide’ lead sit-ins, protests coast-to-coast at tech giant’s offices.” Fox Business. April 16, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/googlers-against-genocide-lead-sit-ins-protests-coast-coast-tech-giants-offices.
  22. Perrigo, Billy. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” Time. April 8, 2024. Updated April 10, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://time.com/6964364/exclusive-no-tech-for-apartheid-google-workers-protest-project-nimbus-1-2-billion-contract-with-israel/.
  23. “Google Axes 20 More In Protest Fallout Over Israel Contract, Says Report.” Business Outlook India. April 23, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://business.outlookindia.com/corporate/google-axes-20-more-in-protest-fallout-over-israel-contract-says-report.
  24. Lee, David. “Google’s Sundar Pichai Has No Time for an Employee Rebellion.” Bloomberg. April 24, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-24/google-s-sundar-pichai-has-no-time-for-an-employee-rebellion?embedded-checkout=true.
  25. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
  26. Gambetta, Daniele. “No Tech For Apartheid: «Google’s leadership encourages the dehumanisation of Palestinians».” Dinamo Press. March 15, 2024. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.dinamopress.it/news/no-tech-for-apartheid-googles-leadership-encourages-the-dehumanisation-of-palestinians/.
  27. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
  28. “Homepage.” No Tech for Apartheid. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.notechforapartheid.com/.
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