By Ari Hoffnung
When Google co-founder Sergey Brin spoke out against a biased U.N. report that accuses companies doing business with Israel of “aiding genocide” in Gaza, he demonstrated the kind of corporate courage that’s desperately needed in today’s climate of rising antisemitism and moral confusion.
In internal remarks first reported by The Washington Post, Brin called the report “plainly biased and misleading”. He urged his Google colleagues not to accept the report’s framing:
“Throwing around the term genocide in relation to Gaza is deeply offensive to many Jewish people who have suffered actual genocides.”
His remarks directly challenged a growing effort to weaponize institutional authority against Israel.
The report, authored by U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, takes aim at major firms including Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, Microsoft, and BlackRock. The report risks fueling Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement’s campaign to isolate Israel economically by pressuring corporations into severing ties with the Jewish state.
The report is part of a broader and troubling pattern of institutional bias against Israel within the U.N. system. Its author, Albanese, has a well-documented history of inflammatory rhetoric — including comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany — delivered with the authority of her U.N. title. This latest report doesn’t depart from that pattern; it reinforces it and reflects the continued willingness to legitimize voices that demonize the world’s only Jewish state.
Brin’s comments weren’t made for headlines. They were unfiltered — not intended for public release — which in many respects makes them all the more meaningful. In an environment where executives are often reluctant to speak out, Brin’s words reflect conviction, not calculation.
Brin’s internal stand quickly reverberated outside Google. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted:
“I applaud @Google co-founder Sergey Brin for calling out a blood libel against Israel. He was right to speak out against the use of a biased UN report by a discredited “special rapporteur.” Thanks, Sergey, for standing up against hate.”
He’s right. There’s a painful irony in seeing U.N. bodies — an institution founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust to protect human rights — being weaponized. When these reports single out the world’s only Jewish state — and those businesses that engage with it — they betray its founding purpose of the organization they’re associated with and undermine its credibility.
The recent U.N. report is not the first time Google has been targeted for its work in Israel. For years, activists have pressured the company to boycott Israel through shareholder proposals and aggressive public campaigns.
Instead of capitulating, Google doubled down—making its largest-ever acquisition of an Israeli firm when it purchased cybersecurity company Wiz in March 2025 for $32 billion.
Sergey Brin didn’t just speak up — his company put values into practice. Other executives should take note: in an era when institutional bias masquerades as moral clarity, the real test of leadership is consistency between words and actions. Google is passing that test. Others should follow.
Ari Hoffnung serves as Managing Director of JLens and Senior Advisor on Corporate Advocacy at the Anti-Defamation League.
