DayofPal– The giant tech company Google has been matching donations made by its employees across the world to pro-Israeli charities in the US, including two organizations thay support Israeli soldiers fighting in Gaza and another helps Israel reclaim the West Bank.
The tech giant alleged it gives its employees the opportunity to direct a portion of their salary toward causes they care about through Benevity, a Canadian-based platform used by major U.S. corporations. However, according to Middle East Eye, Google helped facilitate donations to a charity called “Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces” (FIDF) and “HaYovel.”
FIDF, based in New York City, is a registered charity supporting Israeli soldiers and veterans. Its work includes funding “programs for Israeli soldiers aimed at alleviating financial stress, economic insecurity.”
FIDF has fundraised over $34.5 million in support for Israeli soldiers, saying it backs the majority of Israeli soldiers major support. It also offers an “adopt a brigade” scheme that allows to finance a certain military unit from the Israeli army. In addition, it offers commander-discretionary fund that provides care for the emotional well-being of soldiers.
HaYovel, a Christian Zionist organisation based in Missouri, has bought $3.5 million worth of security equipment for Israeli settlers since Oct.7, 2023, saying its goal is to help further the “prophetic tradition” of the Occupied West Bank, which it refers to as “Judea and Samaria”, by sending volunteers to work on farms in illegal settlements, providing training and tools to them to be ‘ambassadors for Israel’.
Google is already facing growing pressure from many of its own employees over its ties to Israel through Project Nimbus – a $1.2 billion partnership with Amazon to provide cloud computing and AI services to Israel’s government and army.
On Tuesday, the New York Times and Intercept reported on documents that revealed Google officials voiced concern that the company’s involvement in Project Nimbus would harm its reputation and potentially link the company to human rights violations.
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