Big Tech and the Assault on Gaza: Shareholder Responsibility Amid a New Age of Militarism

Recent investigations have exposed the extent to which the Israeli military is relying on services provided by Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to conduct its onslaught on Gaza. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the world’s most powerful private U.S. technology companies are complicit in genocide by enabling the Israeli military to manage and analyze vast amounts of data that influence critical operations. These investigations come amidst growing protests by cloud company employees who fear that the technology they developed has helped Israel commit war crimes.
For investors, the revelations about Google, Amazon, and Microsoft also raise urgent ethical questions — but divesting isn’t always simple. As some of the most widely held and influential companies in the market, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are embedded in index funds, retirement accounts, and endowments. For many values-aligned investors, walking away entirely may not be feasible — making shareholder engagement not just an option, but a necessary strategy for accountability.
The Divest4Pal Working Group is hosting a critical conversation on Wednesday, May 7, at 9 am PT / 12 pm ET for shareholders who hold, or may be exposed to, Google, Amazon, or Microsoft and want to understand how to take action from within.
Whether you’re managing a retirement account, part of a foundation or donor network, or advising others on their investments, this session will help make sense of what’s unfolding in the tech sector and explore ways to respond meaningfully as a shareholder. Speakers will break down recent findings about the complicity of these tech giants, explore how companies like them often evade deep scrutiny in the socially responsible investment community, and introduce the broader trend of “new age militarism” — where corporate technology quietly fuels war, genocide, and authoritarianism. The event will feature the following speakers:
Leena Barakat (Moderator), Executive Director of Women Donors Network

Suhad Babaa, Executive Director of Just Vision and Co-Publisher of Local Call

Dov Baum, Director of the Action Center for Corporate Accountability at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)

Nadim Nashif, Executive Director and Co-Founder of 7amleh: The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media

Marcela Pinilla, Director of Sustainable Investing at Zevin Asset Management

This conversation is sponsored by Divest4Pal, Racial Justice Investing, Resource Generation, Women Donors Network, Solidaire Action and Funders4Palestine.