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John,
This week, one of the bombs funded by our country killed a Lebanese family of six with ties to residents of my district.
Our government must listen to the vast majority of Americans who want to stop funding deadly war crimes, and instead use our taxpayer dollars to fund what our communities need to survive and thrive—like healthcare, housing, and food.
At home and abroad, we must keep pushing to divest from state violence and invest in life. But it can take a long time for public pressure to move federal institutions like Congress. Many U.S. activists are also pressuring U.S. corporations that are fueling genocide.
Thanks to this pressure, Microsoft revoked an Israeli military unit’s access to some of its storage and AI services, saying: “We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians.”1
However, Microsoft has not ended its contracts with Israel’s military, police, prisons, illegal settlements, weapons companies, and the Israeli national water company that blocks Palestinians’ access to water.
Amazon and Google also provide essential technology for the Israeli military and Israeli weapons manufacturers.2 And Google has an ads contract with Israel’s war criminal Prime Minister to spread disinformation about the forced famine and genocide in Gaza.3
By coming together, we can apply massive pressure to these tech companies to demand they end these contracts and help save millions of people’s lives.
Please take a minute right now to send a quick message to the CEOs of Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, urging them to end their complicity in genocide and war crimes.
Many of my colleagues in Congress are trying to deny the truth and repress our movement, but they can’t silence us no matter how much they try. This week, I submitted three documents into the Congressional record about the Gaza genocide:
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The September 16th report from the United Nations Commission of Inquiry that concluded the Israeli government is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.5
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The names we have of every single child, mother, father, and grandparent killed in this genocide that has taken at least 60,000 lives. The first 21 pages are all children under the age of 1.6
I will keep demanding our government listen to the American people and stop supporting Israel’s apartheid regime, and I’ll keep pushing to ban members of Congress from owning stock in military corporations.
While we continue pressing U.S. government leaders at all levels, we must also press the U.S. corporations enabling mass death.
In addition to supporting Israel’s military, Amazon provides data storage for the Israeli agency that enforces apartheid policies and expands illegal settlements in the West Bank.7 Google and Amazon also provide tech for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to target, kidnap, detain, and deport immigrants. And Google provides AI for Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons manufacturer.8
Please sign and send a message to these tech corporations today, urging them to stop supporting human rights abuses and the mass murder of civilians—abroad and within the United States.
Thank you for continuing to take action to save lives. We won’t ever back down.
In solidarity,
Rashida
1 Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians
2 How US Big Tech supports Israel’s AI-powered genocide and apartheid
3 Google’s $45 Million Contract With Netanyahu's Office to Spread Israeli Propaganda
4 International Association of Genocide Scholars Resolution on the Situation in Gaza
5 Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
6 Remember their names and Killed in Gaza
7 Amazon’s Investments in Israel Reveal Complicity in Settlements and Military Operations
8 Statement on Google Cloud’s collaboration with Lockheed Martin
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