Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL), has accused the United Nations (U.N.) of being “transparently antisemitic” following a report that was published alleging technology firms profited off the “genocide carried out by Israel” in Gaza.
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The U.N. reportedly calls out big technology companies such as Alphabet for their connections to Israel. An angry Brin called the U.N. “transparently antisemitic” during an internal forum with employees of Alphabet, according to multiple media reports.
Brian was apparently angry that the U.N. report accuses Google and its parent company Alphabet of profiting from the war between Israel and Hamas by providing cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to the Israeli government and military.
‘Deeply Offensive’
Brin wrote in a forum for staff at Google DeepMind, the company’s AI division, “With all due respect, throwing around the term genocide in relation to Gaza is deeply offensive to many Jewish people who have suffered actual genocides. I would also be careful citing transparently antisemitic organizations like the UN in relation to these issues.”
The U.N. report was authored by Francesa Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Albanese has been accused of antisemitism on numerous occasions in the past, and the U.S. has called her “unfit” for her current role. The subject of whether the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza rises to the level of genocide remains debatable by both politicians and international organizations.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the war is a defensive act after Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,195 people and taking 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. Brin’s comments were reportedly made on a Google Chat forum that has nearly 2,500 members, most of whom are AI researchers at the company.
Brin has said in the past that he and his Russian Jewish parents immigrated to the U.S. to escape the antisemitism they faced in the former Soviet Union. He remains on Alphabet’s board of directors and is still actively involved with Google, particularly in AI research. GOOGL stock has declined 7% this year.
Is GOOGL Stock a Buy?
The stock of Alphabet has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 35 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 26 Buy and nine Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average GOOGL price target of $202.39 implies 16.08% upside from current levels.
