Google drops staffer from diversity team after unearthed blog post deemed anti-Semitic
Bobb reportedly apologized to Google employees in an internal email this week
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Google has removed its former head of global diversity strategy after a 14-year-old blog post resurfaced that some deemed to be anti-Semitic.
"If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself," Kamau Bobb wrote in the now-deleted 2007 blog post titled, "If I Were A Jew," as first reported by The Washington Free Beacon.
Bobb's LinkedIn profile says he started working for Google in September 2018.
"We unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community," a Google spokesperson told FOX Business. "These writings are unquestionably hurtful. The author acknowledges this and has apologized. He will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM work."
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The spokesperson added that the resurfaced blog post came "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 spokesperson said.
Bobb reportedly apologized to Google employees in an internal email this week, according to The New York Post.
Kamau Bobb (Facebook)
"My blog is a place for my personal reflection on a number of complex issues spanning years. reading it again and seeing the pain it’s caused, i would like to respond directly and honestly," he wrote in the email obtained by the Post. "Let me first apologize. what I wrote crudely characterized the entire jewish community. what was intended as a critique of particular military action fed into antisemitic tropes and prejudice."
He added that he thinks everyone can "agree" that "there is no easy solution to this situation" but added that the way he expressed his views on the Israel-Gaza conflict "were hurtful."
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"None of this changes or excuses the words i wrote – but i am deeply sorry for them," he continued.
His removal comes as tensions between Israel and Gaza are just beginning to de-escalate after weeks of exchanging missile fire. The most recent surge in violence became a popular point of discussion for U.S. politicians and pundits on social media in May.
The Associated Press also fired former news associate Emily Wilder after just 17 days on the job when pro-Palestinian social media posts she wrote during college went viral.
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Stanford College Republicans drew attention to her activism on Twitter, where she called the Jewish student travel program Birthright "nothing more than ethnic nationalist propaganda," and accused Israel of engaging in "the ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians in Palestine."
Wilder also referred to late Jewish donor Sheldon Adelson as a "naked mole rat-looking billionaire."
The AP said the outlet fired the reporter for violating the news outlet's social media rules.
Fox News' Kelsey Koberg contributed to this report.