More than 600 Google workers and counting have signed a letter addressed to Google marketing leadership demanding that it drop its sponsorship of Mind the Tech, an annual conference promoting the Israeli tech industry taking place in New York this week. The letter, seen by WIRED, urges Google to withdraw from the conference, issue an apology, and stand in solidarity with those affected by the recent violence in Gaza.
The two-day event, which began on Monday with industry-focused lectures and a gala scheduled for Tuesday, aims to showcase the resilience of the Israeli tech industry, particularly in light of Israel’s economic downturn following recent attacks by Hamas militants. The attacks led to the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, while Israel’s military campaign on Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 30,000 Palestinians as of March 4.
During the conference on Monday, Google Israel’s managing director, Barak Regev, faced disruptions from a Google Cloud software engineer who expressed concerns about his work being used for surveillance and genocide. The engineer, along with an organizer from anti-Zionist Israeli groups Shoresh and Jewish Voices for Peace, were escorted out of the event.
Zelda Montes, a software engineer at YouTube who participated in a protest outside the conference, emphasized the importance of worker solidarity in addressing the use of Israeli AI technologies in the oppression of the Palestinian people.
The letter against Google’s participation in Mind the Tech was first shared internally on February 29 and was co-written by organizers for No Tech for Apartheid, a campaign group advocating for an end to Project Nimbus—a cloud computing contract between Israel’s government and Google and Amazon.
No Tech for Apartheid alleges that tools from Project Nimbus could potentially be used for military purposes, including surveillance in the occupied Palestinian territories. The group is calling for an end to any objectionable contracts that support oppression and human rights violations.
Google has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter. The growing number of Google workers expressing their objections to the company’s involvement in the conference highlights the increasing pressure on tech companies to reconsider their partnerships and support for controversial events and projects.
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