Google commits $8 million to relief efforts in Israel and Gaza

DUBAI: Google has committed $8 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that are providing relief to civilians in Israel and Gaza affected by the conflict there, CEO Sundar Pichai has revealed.

The total includes more than $1 million raised by Google employees and $1 million in search ads donated to nonprofits.

In addition, the company pledged $3 million to aid organizations that are providing support for people in Gaza, including Save the Children, which is providing essentials, such as food and shelter, as well as psychological support.

In a message to staff on Tuesday, Pichai said the company is also ‘very focused’ on countering disinformation, hate speech, and graphically violent or terrorist content.

Google aims to help people through its products as well, he added, by deploying “language capabilities to support emergency efforts, including universal dubbing, emergency translations, and localizing Google content to help users, businesses and” nongovernmental organizations.

This year, Google introduced its Palestine Launchpad program, a capacity-building initiative designed to help Palestinian graduates, app developers and tech entrepreneurs enhance their digital skills and find jobs. The aim is for 3,500 Palestinians from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem to complete the program, which was co-designed with educational organization Udacity and Spark, which supports young people in regions affected by conflict and helps them to study, work and grow businesses.

Pichai said Google is in contact with its partners in Gaza and program participants “to try to support those who have been tragically impacted and displaced” by the current conflict. The company will continue to monitor the situation and is planning to offer additional support in the coming weeks as the crisis develops, he added.

“We will continue to do everything we can to stand by our Googlers,” Pichai said. “Even when world events cause the deepest divisions and pain, we can draw strength from our internal community and the mission and values we hold in common.”