The workers are protesting the cloud contract with Israel
Google, Mpower Change, and Voice for Peace: A Witness to the Disruption of Project Nimbus by Google Security Engineer Eddie Hatfield
Videos seen by WIRED show people who appear to be from the security division of the search engine company walking up to workers in protest. In the video from New York, a man in a hoodie informs the workers that they have been placed on administrative leave and that they should take the opportunity to leave peacefully.
Tuesday’s actions mark an escalation in a series of recent protests organized by tech workers who oppose their employer’s relationship with the Israeli government, especially in light of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. On October 7th, the IDF killed about 1,100 Israelis and 34,000 Palestinians.
Project Nimbus has been the target of protests by Google and Amazon workers for years. The Muslim and Jewish-led activist groups Mpower Change and Jewish Voice for Peace have joined forces on a new campaign group called No Tech for Apartheid after details about the cloud contract became public.
On March 4, Google cloud software engineer Eddie Hatfield disrupted Google Israel’s managing director at Mind the Tech, a company-sponsored conference focused on the Israeli tech industry, and more than 600 other Googlers signed a petition opposing the company’s sponsorship of the conference. After Hatfield was fired three days later, Google trust-and-safety-policy employee Vidana Abdel Khalek resigned from her position in opposition to Project Nimbus.
Then, in late March, more than 300 Apple workers signed an open letter that alleged retaliation against workers who have expressed support for Palestinians, and urged company leadership to show public support for Palestinians.
Hasan Ibraheem, a Google software engineer, is participating in the sit-in at his local Google office in New York. He tells WIRED that this has been a culmination of their efforts.
New York and Florida Workers of the Defense Forces in the Campaign against Project Nimbus: A New Look at a New York City Conspiral
Israel’s military assault on Gaza, which began after Hamas killed about 1,100 Israelis on October 7, has added new fuel to the internal opposition to Project Nimbus. Since the beginning of last year the Israel Defence Forces have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.
It was not possible to independently verify that the workers in New York and Florida had been arrested or charged. A person involved in coordinating the protests says the New York workers were arrested with desk appearance tickets, which specify when a person must appear in court. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We will not be leaving,” a protesting worker replies. A man in uniform then introduces the officers as NYPD and delivers a final ultimatum, saying the workers have a last chance to walk out freely. “If not, you can be arrested for trespass,” he says. When the protesters again decline to go, police officers put them in handcuffs.
