Jewish rights groups were asked shareholders in Google’s parent company the alphabet to refuse a proposal that would require the company to investigate whether its cloud-like calculation services used in Israel’s Nimbus project contribute to human rights abuses in conflict areas.
The proposal, which will be voted at the annual meeting of the alphabet shareholders on June 6, takes the goal of company technology contracts with the Israeli government, including the services used by both civil agencies and Israeli Protection Forces (IDF).
“Proposal 9 offers the claim of human rights concern when it is in fact a detailed disguised ploy to weaken Israeli’s national security-and undermine its right to defend itself-pressuring the alphabet to maintain life technology that supports the country’s self-defense skills,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and the National Director of the Anti-Defam.
“We believe that this proposal is closely linked to the objectives of movement of boycott, relocation and sanctions (BDS), whose purpose is to delegate the state of Israel.”
The proposal calls on the alphabet to commission an independent third -party ratio that considers whether its products and services are being used to cause or contribute to human rights damages in “conflict and high risk areas” (Cahra).
In particular he underlines the company’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a joint project of $ 1.2 billion with Amazon that has attracted criticism from activists and protest groups against Israel.
The Board of Directors of the Alphabet has joined the ADL in the recommendation that shareholders vote against the measure, according to the statement of the representative issued by the company before the meeting.
Critics argue that the proposal distorts the nature of the Nimbus project, portraying it only as a military initiative while ignoring its civil applications throughout the Israeli Ministries of Health Care, Finance, Education and Transport.
It also opposes the measure is Jlens, a registered investment adviser representing over 300 Jewish institutions with more than $ 2 billion in invested assets.
The group promotes Jewish values through shareholder advocacy and impact investment and has been loud in its opposition to proposals that it considers politically or anti-Israel motivated.
“The alphabet shareholders should see this proposal for what is: an attempt to misuse the representative process to advance a divisive political agenda that has no place in corporate governance,” said Ari Hoffnung, managing director of Jlens.
“Proposal 9 not only distorts the purpose of the Nimbus project – it also risks undermining the value of shareholders by introducing geopolitics into decisions regarding legal, healthy commercial partnerships.”
Jlens has submitted a notice of excluded request to the Insurance and Exchanges Commission to officially oppose the measure.
The post has requested comment from the alphabet.
Voting comes after the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people and led to hundreds of others, retreating back to Gaza as hostages.
ADL and JLENS argue that restricting access to alphabet technology in such an unstable environment would endanger civilian safety and critical infrastructure.
The alphabet has faced increasing pressure on its Israeli partnerships.
In April 2024, the company fired 28 employees after internal protests over the Nimbus project.
Earlier this year, the technology giant faced further feedback on the purchase of the Israeli Security Firm Internet WIZ, a deal sentenced by BDS -related organizers.
A protest targeted the home of Google Cloud Thomas Kurian CEO, with banners labeling it a “beneficiary of genocide”.
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