Newsletter
Over 1,100 students and young workers have pledged not to take jobs or internships at Google and Amazon over their involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract between the tech giants and the Israeli government. The students joined a campaign run by No Tech for Apartheid (NOTA), a coalition of tech workers demanding big companies to end their association with Israel.
Students refuse to work at Google and Amazon until they exit Project Nimbus
Announced in April 2021, Project Nimbus is an Israeli government initiative to empower government agencies, including the military, with next-gen technologies. Under this project, Google and Amazon provide the agencies with cloud computing services and infrastructure, including AI. While it was another business deal for the companies, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has made the contract controversial.
Critics say Israel uses Google and Amazon technologies for unlawful data collection and surveillance of Palestinians to aid military operations in the region. Organizations like NOTA, company shareholders, and employees want the tech biggies to end the contract. This led to massive sit-in protests in Google’s offices in April. Only for the company to fire dozens of employees involved in the protests.
In the meantime, NOTA launched a campaign urging STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students to avoid joining Google and Amazon. Students and young workers can sign an online pledge to show their support. As of this writing, 1,134 students from over 120 universities around the world have signed the pledge. The initial goal is to get 1,200 signs, so NOTA is very close to its goal.
“As young people and students in STEM and beyond, we refuse to have any part in these horrific abuses. We’re joining the #NoTechForApartheid campaign to demand Amazon and Google immediately end Project Nimbus,” part of the pledge reads. NOTA alleges that Amazon and Google are “providing some of the critical digital infrastructure powering Israel’s killing machine.”
The tech firms are two of the biggest employees of STEM graduates
Studies have shown that Google and Amazon are two of the biggest employees of STEM graduates globally. Through this campaign, NOTA aims to disrupt the companies’ talent pipeline on university campuses. The organization has activists from the Muslim grassroots movement MPower Change and the advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace. “Amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza, it’s more important than ever that the corporations doing business with Israel’s apartheid government are paying a price for their role in fueling mass atrocities,” NOTA said.