{"id":264758,"date":"2021-06-02T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T13:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/google-diversity-chief-under-fire-for-anti-semitic-blog-post\/"},"modified":"2021-06-02T16:05:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T13:05:00","slug":"google-diversity-chief-under-fire-for-anti-semitic-blog-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/google-diversity-chief-under-fire-for-anti-semitic-blog-post\/","title":{"rendered":"#Google diversity chief under fire for anti-Semitic blog post"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Google diversity chief under fire for anti-Semitic blog post<\/strong>”
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Google\u2019s head of diversity strategy is under fire over a 2007 blog post in which he wrote that Jews have \u201can insatiable app<\/a>etite for war and killing\u201d \u2014 and an \u201cinsensitivity\u201d to people\u2019s suffering.<\/p>\n

Kamau Bobb made the comments in a Nov. 30, 2007, post<\/a> titled \u201cIf I Were a Jew\u201d when he was a research associate in technology<\/a> at Georgia Tech, the Washington Free Beacon reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In it, he described how he believed Jews should view the Middle East conflict as he assailed Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza and Lebanon at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering (of) others. My greatest torment would be that I\u2019ve misinterpreted the identity offered by my history and transposed spiritual and human compassion with self righteous impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobb \u2014 a graduate of Midwood High School in Brooklyn \u2014 slammed the Israeli government, argued that Jews should be \u201ctormented\u201d by the country\u2019s actions and said the Jewish suffering \u2014 particularly the Holocaust \u2014 should theoretically give them more \u201chuman compassion.\u201d <\/p>\n

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I searched for “antisemitism” and “hypocrisy”.
Here’s what I found.<\/p>\n

Google Diversity Head @kamaubobb<\/a> Said Jews Have \u2018Insatiable Appetite for War\u2019 https:\/\/t.co\/dE7OS7Kw9Q<\/a> <\/p>\n

Did @Google<\/a> Google him?<\/p>\n

He’s not fit for this post.
And there’s more:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) June 2, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cIf 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,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis reconciliation would be particularly difficult now, in November, 79 years after Kristallnacht \u2013 the Night of Broken Glass,\u201d Bobb continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe anniversary of this dreadfully monumental day in my history would bring me pause. It would force me to reflect on the legacy of extraordinary human suffering. I might wonder how the vicious eruption of cruelty in the mid-twentieth century has influenced the shape of my identity as a Jewish person and our collective identity as Jewish people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In other comments about conflict in the region, he wrote: \u201cI don\u2019t know how I would reconcile that identity with the behavior of fundamentalist Jewish extremists or of Israel as a nation. The details would confuse me.<\/p>\n

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All of this begs the question whether (1) @Google<\/a> did due diligence when selecting @kamaubobb<\/a> for the sensitive position of global Google DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Director and (2) whether he should remain in these positions.@Google<\/a> \u2013 what say you?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) June 2, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t 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,\u201d Bobb continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t understand the notion of collective punishment, cutting off gas, electricity and water from residents in Gaza because they are attacking Israel who is fighting against them. It would be unconscionable to me to watch Israeli tanks donning the Star of David rumbling through Ramallah destroying buildings and breaking the glass,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Bobb faced criticism Wednesday for his 2007 remarks.<\/p>\n

Michael Dickson, the executive director of Stand With Us, which fights anti-Semitism, responded in a series<\/a> of tweets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI searched for \u2018antisemitism\u2019 and \u2018hypocrisy.\u2019 Here\u2019s what I found. Google Diversity Head @kamaubobb Said Jews Have \u2018Insatiable Appetite for War,\u2019\u201d he wrote<\/a>, linking to the Free Beacon piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid @Google<\/a> Google him? He\u2019s not fit for this post,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In another tweet<\/a>, Dickson wrote that Bobb maked \u201crevolting, and antisemitic, comparisons between Nazi actions and that of the world\u2019s only Jewish country. He portrays Jews as bloodthirsty.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also wrote<\/a>: \u201cAll of this begs the question whether (1) \u00a0@Google<\/a> did due diligence when selecting \u00a0@kamaubobb<\/a> for the sensitive position of global Google DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Director and (2) whether he should remain in these positions. \u00a0@Google<\/a> \u2013 what say you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Jewish human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted<\/a>: \u201cGoogle must fire this #antisemite #KamauBobb.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Post has reached out to Google for comment.<\/p>\n

Bobb\u2019s bio describes him as \u201cthe Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research at Google and the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech.\u201d<\/p>\n

He holds a Ph.D. in science<\/a> and technology Policy from Georgia Tech and master\u2019s and bachelor\u2019s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.\n <\/p><\/div>\n