CEO Sundar Pichai Sends Message of Support to Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Googlers
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai quickly wrote an internal email about what the tech giant plans to do to support its more than 2,000 employees in Israel “following the horrific attacks in Israel last week.” Now, in another email, Pichai has announced $8 million in grants to nonprofits that provide aid to civilians suffering in Israel and Gaza.
“Israeli Googlers are still in shelters. Our offices in Tel Aviv and Haifa have shelters and are open to Googlers who need them,” Pichai said. The CEO also shared his condolences, support and concern for “Jewish Googlers and “Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Googlers” in separate paragraphs in his new email.
Here is Sundar Pichai’s new email. Excerpts.
Hey Google
In my email last Saturday about the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel, I wanted to let you know that today we are announcing $8 million in grants to non-profit organizations providing relief to civilians suffering in Israel and Gaza.
First, I want to thank the teams who worked tirelessly to ensure that our employees were considered and who helped evacuate visiting Googlers and provide on-site support. What more than 2,000 of our colleagues in Israel are going through is heartbreaking as their families and friends continue to experience the loss and horror of the hostages from Israel and around the world in Gaza. Israeli Google employees still live in safe rooms. Our offices in Tel Aviv and Haifa have shelters and are open to Googlers who need them. Please expect your colleagues in these offices to focus on the safety of their families and themselves at this time.
Second, I want to share my condolences and support on behalf of the Google executives.
Our Jewish Googlers around the world are suffering from these attacks — which bring painful reminders of the worst moments in history — and are experiencing increasing incidents of anti-Semitism, calling for better security in synagogues and schools.
Our Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Googlers have been deeply affected by the alarming rise in Islamophobia, and are watching in horror as Palestinian civilians in Gaza have suffered significant losses and fear for their lives amid an escalating war and humanitarian crisis.
Words cannot take away this pain.
However, we can create a culture of empathy to support other Googlers in the coming weeks and months. I’ve always been proud of how Googlers come together in times of crisis. I want to give special thanks to our ERG communities—especially our Arab, Jewish, and Muslim Googlers—for providing guidance and support over the past week.
Pichai also mentioned how Alphabet plans to support humanitarian and relief efforts and “to ensure that products and platforms respond to the current crisis.”
“Google employees and Google.org have committed more than $8 million to nonprofits to help them. This includes more than $1 million raised by Google employees through corporate contributions and $1 million in donated search ads to nonprofits so they can better connect with people in need and provide information to those in need,” he said.
He mentioned that the tech giant supports organizations like Magen David Adom and ERAN. “Furthermore, to provide immediate relief and support to those affected in Israel, Google.org is committing an additional $3 million to local emergency relief and psychological and emotional support for victims, children and families,” he added.
In addition to that, he also mentioned that “the employee donation campaign also supports organizations operating in the State of Palestine, such as the Palestine Red Crescent Society and UNICEF.”
Google.org is investing $3 million in additional aid organizations that provide support to the people of Gaza, including through Save the Children, which provides essential supplies – food, shelter and psychological support.
