U.S. police arrested a group of employees from Google after they organized a protest against the technology giant's collaboration with the Israeli government. Employees from the "No Tech For Apartheid" movement staged a sit-in for 10 hours at Google's offices in New York and California. During the protest, activists targeted the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian amid a dispute over a $1 billion contract with Israel. Videos shared on social media showed police arresting nine protesters.
BREAKING—DOZENS OF @GOOGLE WORKERS LEAD HISTORIC COAST TO COAST-INS AT @GOOGLECLOUD CEO THOMAS KURIAN’S OFFICE IN SUNNYVALE & @GOOGLE’s NYC 10TH FLOOR COMMONS. They refuse to leave until @google stops powering the genocide in Gaza. LIVESTREAM: https://t.co/uUiPbr3oDz pic.twitter.com/vCkInh0769— No Tech For Apartheid (@NoTechApartheid) April 16, 2024
Protest spokesperson Jean Chung wrote in a post on the "X" platform: "Google is ordering the arrest of its workers due to the protest." A live video from the incident at Google’s California office showed a security guard informing the protesters that they had been placed on "administrative leave," while also warning them against trespassing. Other footage showed California police entering the office and asking protesters if they refused to leave before escorting them out in handcuffs. A separate video from the Google office in New York also showed the arrest of protesters.
These protests represent an escalation in the conflict between technology workers and executives regarding Google’s operations in Israel.
