Global political campaigners at Progressive International have called for consumers to stop to buying from Amazon [GETTY]
Workers, unions, and activist organizations have come together to protest Amazon’s involvement in controversial projects with the Israeli military.
A coordinated series of international boycotts and strikes, organised by UNI Global Union and Progressive International, will take place from 29 November to 2 December.
At the heart of the criticism is Amazon’s role in Project Nimbus, a cloud computing contract between Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and the Israeli military.
The partnership provides the Israeli army with cloud services and AI tools used for surveillance, data analysis, and the targeting of individuals.
Critics argue that the company is profiting from Black Friday sales while simultaneously enabling Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Campaigners at Progressive International have called for consumers to refuse to spend money on the website.
In a statement, they said: “Amazon has not only lent its hand to an illegal occupation but has reinforced systems of control that shreds Palestinian life.
“The protests from Amazon’s own employees and activists through the ‘No Tech for Apartheid’ campaign shine a light on the complicity of corporate titans like Jeff Bezos, whose wealth -now reaching over $220 billion – is built on the suffering of those on the receiving end of these systems of violence.”
The mobilisation coincides with the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People, a campaign that has garnered support from prominent advocacy groups like the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and the No Tech for Apartheid coalition.
These organisations have also accused Amazon of enabling violence against Palestinians through its technology and claim that the company is complicit in war crimes and violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
In South Africa, Amazon’s AWS is also under scrutiny for its role in a development project at the River Club in Cape Town.
The site, which holds deep historical significance for the indigenous Khoi and San communities, is being developed into a new headquarters for AWS. Progressive International said that Amazon’s presence on this land further deepens the company’s “legacy of exploitation”.
The global protests have also been fuelled by long-standing grievances about Amazon’s treatment of its workforce, particularly during extreme conditions.
Under the #MakeAmazonPay campaign, hundreds of warehouse workers in New Delhi planned to rally in response to the company’s mistreatment of staff during the severe heatwave in 2024.
The protests spread to countries like Germany, Bangladesh, and India, with employees, retail workers, and union members calling for better wages, improved working conditions, and fairer distribution of profits.
Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, said: “Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profit comes at a cost to workers, the environment, and democracy.
“The global protests show that workers’ desire for justice and union representation cannot be stopped.”
The New Arab has contacted Amazon for comment.
