Why Is Anti-Semitism Acceptable at Google? SWC Launches Campaign Demanding That Google Do More
Against the backdrop of a dramatic rise of anti-Semitism around the globe, the Simon Wiesenthal Center haslaunched a campaign calling out...
| Against the backdrop of a dramatic rise of anti-Semitism around the globe, the Simon Wiesenthal Center haslaunched a campaign calling out Google’s failure to address anti-Semitism in its workplace. |
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| This campaign features digital ads on numerous social media platforms and other websites geotargeted toSilicon Valley and Google headquarters. Google’s head of diversity, Kamau Bobb, had written a virulently anti-Semitic internet post in a 2007blog stating that Jews have "an insatiable appetite for war and killing." As head of diversity, Mr. Bobb was directly responsible for ensuring a workplace free of discrimination andbigotry. While Google acknowledged the problem and Mr. Bobb apologized, he was simply reassigned to a different department. Mr. Bobb’s comments about Jews cannot be dismissed as a product of ignorance. They promoted dangerousaccusations that have been used for centuries as a pretext for virulent hate and violence directed against Jews. And far from being an employee who worked on coding or engineering, he wasthe public face and head of Google’s diversity efforts, the very person who is supposed to be most sensitive to matters of discrimination and hate. Transferring Mr. Bobb to a different role sends a clear message that Google embraces a double standardin which anti-Semitism is less offensive and less worthy of opprobrium than other forms of hate. The lack of pushback from Google employees over Mr. Bobb’s comments or the company’s response to themstands in stark contrast to the indignation and activism displayed by Google staffers in response to other incidents both at the company and in our wider society. Google employees should condemn these comments as they have spoken out against other acts of bigotry andviolence. |
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| For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, theCouncil of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO) |