Google Calls Police on Workers Protesting Israel Contracts, Cuts Badge Access
On Tuesday night, nine Google workers were arrested in New York City and Sunnyvale, California following a lengthy sit-in protest against their company's contracts with Israel, according to a spokesperson from No Tech For Apartheid. In response, Google has revoked the protesters' badge access and placed them on administrative leave. A representative from Google stated in an email to Gizmodo on Wednesday, "Physically obstructing other employees' work and preventing them from entering our facilities is a direct violation of our policies, and we will investigate and take appropriate action." The spokesperson also added, "These employees have been placed on administrative leave, and their access to our systems has been terminated. When they repeatedly refused to vacate the premises, law enforcement was called to ensure the safety of the office." Confirming the incident, the New York Police Department informed Gizmodo that four protesters were arrested for trespassing at Google's New York City headquarters that night. However, the Sunnyvale Police Department did not respond to inquiries made outside of regular business hours. The protesters' spokesperson announced that all nine Google workers have since been released from custody. The Google employees were protesting against their company's $1.2 billion Project Nimbus contract, which provides AI and cloud computing services to the Israeli government and military. The sit-ins lasted several hours and attracted significant crowds outside Google's headquarters, with bystanders demonstrating against Google's alleged involvement in the Israel and Palestine conflict. No Tech for Apartheid revealed that they have faced significant opposition within Google, but the online tech community has recently shown increased hostility towards the protesters. Many members on X revolted against the protesting employees, referring to it as the newest "woke fiasco." Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, commented on Twitter, saying, "This company is completely controlled by employee mobs." Chaya Raichick, creator of LibsOfTikTok, also tweeted, "All these entitled brats should be fired immediately." Another person stated, "This is the consequence when you claim to be a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) company." These nine employees placed on administrative leave are the latest individuals to face penalties for protesting against Google's contracts with Israel. Last month, a 23-year-old Google software engineer named Eddie Hatfield was fired after disrupting an executive's presentation and shouting "No tech for apartheid!" at an Israeli tech conference. When asked about the possibility of future protests following Tuesday's sit-ins, Hatfield told Gizmodo to "wait and see."