The coalition known as No Tech for Apartheid (NOTA) is gaining traction in its campaign urging tech workers to boycott big tech companies that have contracts with the Israeli government. Over 1,100 STEM students and young professionals have pledged to reject job offers from companies like Google and Amazon, accusing them of fueling Israel’s apartheid system and genocide against Palestinians. The goal is to gather 1,200 signatures for the campaign.
The campaign specifically targets Google and Amazon, which secured a $1.2 billion contract known as Project Nimbus to provide cloud computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government and military. While a Google spokesperson claimed that the Nimbus contract does not involve workloads related to weapons or intelligence services, NOTA supporters remain firm in their stance.
Google and Amazon, as two of the largest tech companies in the world, are also major employers of STEM graduates. Students from prestigious universities such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University have joined the cause. The proximity of these institutions to Google’s headquarters in California has only further intensified the campaign.
NOTA has a history of organizing protests against tech companies’ involvement in Israel, including sit-ins and office takeovers that resulted in Google laying off several employees. In a notable incident, one of the campaign organizers was fired from Google after disrupting an executive at an Israeli technology conference in New York, denouncing the company’s role in fueling genocide and surveillance.
The movement reflects a growing sentiment among tech workers, particularly in STEM fields, who are increasingly vocal about ethical concerns related to their industry’s partnerships and contracts with governments involved in human rights violations. As NOTA nears its goal in mobilizing tech workers to boycott Google and Amazon, the conversation around corporate responsibility in the tech sector continues to evolve.
Article Source
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/more-than-1000-students-pledge-not-to-work-at-google-and-amazon-due-to-project-nimbus-042439081.html