Google employees arrested for protesting against deal with Israel

Several Google employees were detained at various locations during an anti-Israel protest, including Google's offices in New York City and Sunnyvale, California.

The protest aimed to criticize Google's collaboration with Israel, with nine employees reportedly arrested at confirmed locations, according to spokesperson Jane Chung speaking to The Washington Post.

At the demonstration, officers from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) warned protesters of potential arrest if they refused to disperse. Meanwhile, Google's representative, Bailey Tomson, confirmed that the protesting employees have been put on administrative leave, with their access to Google's systems revoked.

The protesters advocated for Google to end its $1.2 billion contract, known as Nimbus, with Amazon, which entails providing cloud services and data centers to the Israeli government. Some protesters were aware of the risk of losing their jobs due to their participation in the protest.

The protests have gained momentum over the past seven months amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. In a previous incident in early March, Google terminated an employee who protested during a speech by a senior executive in Israel.

The controversial contract was signed with the Israeli government as a whole, raising concerns among some tech employees regarding the potential military applications of their work, as the contract prohibits the denial of services to specific sectors of the Israeli government.