On Tuesday, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Kamua Bobb, Google’s head of diversity strategy (until this week), wrote in a 2007 blog post that Jews have an “insatiable appetite for war and killing” and an “insensitivity” to people’s suffering. The next day, Google announced that Bobb would be reassigned from the diversity team to focus on his work related to STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math).
Should he have been fired? Depends whom you ask.
Last month, Apple fired an ad marketing executive named Antonio García Martínez hours after some employees signed a petition accusing him of misogyny, based on his autobiography about Silicon Valley. In the book, he had written, “most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of shit.”
A few hours after the internal petition was circulated, the ad platforms team called an emergency meeting, Martínez’s Slack account was deactivated, and Apple announced he had been fired.
The Verge obtained a statement in which the company said, “At Apple, we have always strived to create an inclusive, welcoming workplace where everyone is respected and accepted. Behavior that demeans or discriminates against people for who they are has no place here.”
Both companies should have looked deeper into these men’s views before hiring them.
Yes, Bobb (at Google) wrote those despicable words about Jews over a decade ago. But who knows how many minds they poisoned? That’s the problem. He has since deleted the hateful blog post, but how many people read it? And perhaps worse, which friends and co-workers read his blog and turned a blind eye to such hate?
The whole incident is rife with potential to embolden antisemites. Yesterday, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) published a story with the headline, “Yielding to Zionist pressure, Google removes its diversity head,” in which it claimed that “Zionist lobbies” in America were responsible for Bobb’s reassignment.
To its credit, Google’s statement recognized that America is facing a hideous uptick in anti-Semitism: “This has come at a time where we’ve seen an alarming increase in antisemitic attacks. Antisemitism is a vile prejudice that has given rise to unfathomable acts. It has no place in society and we stand with our Jewish community in condemning it.”
The statement also said that Bobb’s accusations caused “deep offense and pain” to Jews. “These writings are unquestionably hurtful,” Google said.
As a Jew, let me state unequivocally that Bobb’s words don’t hurt my feelings; they endanger my life.
As a Jew, let me state unequivocally that Bobb’s words don’t hurt my feelings; they endanger my life.
They constitute the very definition of blood libel and paint a picture of the blood-thirsty Jew who only knows how to kill. If, according to Bobb, Jews are only prone to killing others, then what must be done about them? Surely, argue antisemites, if Jews are such a menace to the world, there’s only one thing that can be done: they must be eradicated.
Sadly, Jews can’t afford to be ungrateful for even a small amount of support from anyone these days. I’m grateful for the statement. But instead of saying that Bobb’s vile words were hurtful, I wish Google had stated that they were wrong, and that Jews do not have an appetite for war and killing.
But instead of saying that Bobb’s vile words were hurtful, I wish Google had stated that they were wrong, and that Jews do not have an appetite for war and killing.
The Washington Free Beacon acquired a copy of Bobb’s internal apology, in which he said his words were “intended as a critique of particular military action” by Israel against Lebanon in 2007.
Sadly, people can get away with anything by claiming they’re concerned about Israel’s actions.
“[T]he world is leaving us all feeling unsafe and unsettled right now,” Bobb added. “I certainly don’t want to contribute to that.”
The world to which Bobb is referring is much smaller than he thinks.
What about the Jewish employees who now have to work with Bobb? Imagine working alongside someone who once categorized you as a bloodthirsty killer. I can only guess that it would take a lot of resilience, strength and compassion for a Jewish person to work alongside him.
And what about the Jewish kids who might participate in the STEM program that Bobb will now run? We don’t know exactly what Bobb will do for this program, but Google likes to offer resources and opportunities for children to learn about STEM.
I don’t know how Jewish kids fit into this equation, but most of them will quickly discover the facts. If kids know how to use one thing, it’s Google.
Tabby Refael is a Los Angeles-based writer, speaker and civic action advocate. Follow her on Twitter @RefaelTabby.
