• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
SuccessGoogle

Google worker who opposed contract with Israel quits, claiming retaliation and a climate of silencing pro-Palestinian workers

By
Alena Botros
Alena Botros
Former staff writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Alena Botros
Alena Botros
Former staff writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 30, 2022, 8:38 PM ET
CEO of Alphabet and Google Sundar Pichai.
CEO of Alphabet and Google Sundar Pichai.Mateusz Wlodarczyk—NurPhoto/Getty Images

A Google employee who had denounced the company’s business dealings with Israel’s military said Tuesday she plans to quit after facing retaliation by the tech giant.  

Ariel Koren, who had worked at Google for seven years, most recently as a product marketing manager at Google for Education, had been a leader in pushing the company last year to drop a $1.2 billion contract it held jointly with Amazon to provide cloud computing to Israel’s government. 

Soon after voicing her concerns, she was told her role was moving to a different location—Sao Paulo, Brazil, and that she had 17 days to relocate or lose her job, Koren said. In the end, she did not have to move because the other location allowed her to work remotely. 

A spokesperson for Google told Fortune the company prohibits retaliation in the workplace. The National Labor Relations Board investigated the case and dismissed it. 

“We thoroughly investigated this employee’s claim, as we do when any concerns are raised, and as we’ve stated for many months, our investigation found there was no retaliation here,” the spokesperson said. 

Google’s work with Israel’s government, called Project Nimbus, was announced in April last year and went into effect several months later. It’s unclear what the technology will be used for, though a slide deck of training materials published by The Intercept said it could help Israel deploy facial detection technology and sentiment analysis that may be able to determine “the emotional content of pictures, speech, and writing.” 

Koren’s departure is just the latest by Google employees who say they’ve either been sidelined or fired for speaking out about a variety of topics in recent years. Timnit Gerbu, a leader on Google’s team for ethics in artificial intelligence, left after raising questions about bias. Shortly after, her colleague Margaret Mitchell was fired for violating Google’s codes of conduct, according to the company. She was hired to co-lead its ethical A.I. unit, with Gerbu. 

Additionally, last month Google fired one of its engineers, Blake Lemoine, after he claimed that a Google A.I. chatbot had achieved “sentience,” or human-like perception.

In an online letter posted Tuesday, Koren, who is Jewish, also complained about what she described as Google’s treatment of pro-Palestinian employees inside the company. She said Google does so to protect its business interests with the Israeli government and military.

“Google systematically silences Palestinian, Jewish, Arab, and Muslim voices concerned about Google’s complicity in violations of Palestinian human rights—to the point of formally retaliating against workers and creating an environment of fear,” Koren wrote.

In her letter, Koren pointed to an internal group, called Jewglers, that’s supposed to support and represent all Jewish workers at Google. Instead, she said it’s used to attack workers like her who support Palestinians by members who complain to Google’s human resources and diversity and inclusion departments. 

“In practice, this group is systemically functioning as an outlet to drive forward right-wing ideologies under the guise of promoting diversity,” Koren wrote. 

Frustrated, Koren said that she and some others created a separate group that was “free of the Jewglers’ censorship.” In one instance, after Israel launched an airstrike into Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians, Koren said Jewglers demanded Google express support for Israelis. Company executives including CEO Sundar Pichai ultimately did, she said.  

In response, her breakaway group sent a letter to Pichai and the company about pro-Israel bias in the Jewglers group, to which they received no response. They sent another that said: “We believe Jewglers leadership is using their platform and leadership positions to endorse an agenda that many Jews oppose, while purporting to represent us all.” 

In some cases, pro-Palestinian employees received warnings from HR for what they said in the online groups. She added that members of Muslim and Arab groups at Google were also being surveilled by members of the Jewglers group and were sent aggressive messages. 

Koren pointed to an incident when Google employees were invited to virtually tour Hebron, an Israeli settlement in occupied Palestine. A Jewish worker responded, asking if the tour would include a conversation of the “ongoing war crimes committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian population.” Her reply was flagged for discrimination, harassment, and bullying, which Koren said was, in fact, a “simple” message of support for Palestinian human rights. 

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

About the Author
By Alena BotrosFormer staff writer
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Alena Botros is a former reporter at Fortune, where she primarily covered real estate.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Indeed
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
11 hours ago
Steve Wozniak
SuccessCareers
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
By Preston ForeMay 22, 2026
12 hours ago
You wouldn’t put your entire 401(k) in one stock. Why are you doing it with your credit card points?
Personal FinancePersonal Finance Evergreen
You wouldn’t put your entire 401(k) in one stock. Why are you doing it with your credit card points?
By Catherina GioinoMay 22, 2026
19 hours ago
Gabrielle Judge, a content creator known as “Ms. Anti Work"
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
Founder of Ms. Anti Work says her ‘lazy girl job’ allowed her to only work a few hours a day—and she built her media company on the side
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
20 hours ago
Anu Madgavkar, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute
AIWorkplace Innovation Summit
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
By Emma BurleighMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Jeff Bezos
SuccessWealth
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
3 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
3 days ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
Success
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
11 hours ago
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
AI
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
By Emma BurleighMay 21, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.