A top Google executive resigned in protest against a deal between the company and Israel
Ariel Koren accused the company of aggressive practices against its employees who express their views on its policies.
Ariel Koren, director of marketing for Google’s educational products department, announced – in a letter her intention to leave the company at the end of the week and said that “Google systematically silences Palestinian and Jewish voices.”
In a letter posted on her Twitter account, 28-year-old Ariel Koren said that she had no choice but to quit this week due to retaliatory measures, a hostile environment, and illegal actions by the company against her and many other employees with the aim of silencing them.
“I am leaving @Google this week due to retaliation & hostility against workers who speak out,” tweeted Koren. “Google moved my role overseas immediately after I opposed its $1B AI/surveillance contracts with Israel. And this is far from an isolated instance.”
She noted that she has consistently seen Google work systematically to silence Palestinian, Jewish, Arab, and Muslim voices. She further expressed concern about Google’s complicity in violations of Palestinian rights, to the point of formally retaliating against employees and creating an environment
The controversy began when Koren denounced the huge deal that Google made with the Tel Aviv government in 2021 worth one billion dollars within the “Nimbus” project, which provides Israel and its military with artificial intelligence tools and other computing services.
The New York Times reported that the company threatened Ariel, in November 2021, to agree to move to Sao Paulo in Brazil within 17 working days or lose her job.
Ariel Koren, who is Jewish, has worked for the company for more than seven years, helped distribute petitions to lobbyist executives, and spoke to news organizations, trying to get Google to reconsider the deal.
