Google has removed its head of global diversity and research, Kamau Bobb, after a 2007 blog post in which he had made comments against Jews resurfaced amid recent aggression of Israeli forces against Palestinians in Gaza.
The post titled “If I Were a Jew.” was uncovered by an international media outlet this week with Jews community exerting pressure on the tech giant to take action against its office over what they call anti-Semitic views.
He had written in the post that Jews have an “insatiable appetite for war” and an “insensitivity to the suffering [of] others.” He had also lashed out at Israel for its military action in Gaza and Lebanon that same year.
The Washington Free Beacon also shared the excerpts of the post, which has been deleted by the Bobb.
“If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself,” the post said.
“If I were a Jew today, my sensibilities would be tormented. I would find it increasingly difficult to reconcile the long cycles of oppression that Jewish people have endured and the insatiable appetite for vengeful violence that Israel, my homeland, has now acquired.”
“I don’t know how I would reconcile that identity with the behavior of fundamentalist Jewish extremists or of Israel as a nation,” Bobb wrote.
“The details would confuse me. I wouldn’t understand those who suggest that bombing Lebanon, slaughtering Lebanese people and largely destroying Beirut in retaliation for the capture of a few soldiers is justified.”
Taking action, Google in a statement on Wednesday said it condemned “the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community.”
“These writings are unquestionably hurtful,” the statement continued. “The author acknowledges this and has apologized. He will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM work.”
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