Silicon Valley speaks out against antisemitism
A growing number of prominent tech and business executives are signing on to a statement denouncing antisemitism amid a recent uptick in hate crimes against Jews around the country, Jewish Insider has learned. The letter, which has been circulating Silicon Valley this week, has racked up signatures from more than 150 industry leaders as of Wednesday afternoon, including Thrive Global CEO Arianna Huffington, ViacomCBS chair Shari Redstone and former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.
“As business leaders, we have a collective responsibility to stand up for the society we want,” the letter reads. “Today, we stand against antisemitism and violence against Jews. This is true regardless of your views on Israel; this is about protecting people from the injustice of antisemitism and hatred.”
The statement’s author, Jordana Stein, founder and CEO of Enrich, a peer learning company in San Francisco, said she was motivated to speak out while witnessing a surge in antisemitic attacks across the United States and Europe following the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“The point here is to make a statement and to show that these flares of violence and attacks don’t go unnoticed,” Stein, who is Jewish, said in an interview with JI on Wednesday. “That there’s a meaningful majority that cares about this issue.”
Roy Bahat, a venture capitalist who runs Bloomberg Beta, helped craft the letter before signing his name and distributing it among tech leaders.
“Jews should stand against all hate. Jews in the U.S. have so much privilege, but not the privilege to be immune from hate directed at us,” Bahat told JI. “In the tech industry, we build the services that connect, employ and entertain us, so we have an even more solemn responsibility to stand against all forms of hate, including the long-lasting and now-flaring antisemitism here in our country.”
David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass, who also read an initial draft, agreed with that sentiment. “The tech industry is often on the forefront of social change,” he said. “It’s an industry that can have a lot of impact.”
But putting his name to the statement was also personal for Rogier. “My grandparents on one side actually met each other in a concentration camp,” he told JI. “They actually met in Auschwitz.”
“I was raised with this understanding that there is evil in the world and that people may want to kill you because of your identity,” Rogier added. “The level of antisemitism that I’ve seen in the last two or three weeks in this country is terrifying, and I wanted to help do something about it.”
The seven-paragraph letter touches on those concerns. “A violent mob macing and punching a man in New York wearing a yarmulke,” it says, listing some of the recent attacks. “Shattered synagogue windows and attacks on Jewish community centers. A group of people throwing bottles and yelling ‘die dirty Jew’ at a dinner in LA. To be too Jewish in America, or to be a Jew, is still a dangerous mark.”
“The pain and the fear around these violent attacks reverberates against the unshakable memory of the Holocaust,” the statement continues. “This horrific mass murder of Jews showed us how deep antisemitism runs, and what can happen when we allow hate against people because of their religion, race, sexuality or any other aspect of their identity.”
Other signatories include Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa, the co-founders of Warby Parker; Mark Pincus, the founder of Zynga; Arlan Hamilton, the founder of Backstage Capital; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the actor and CEO of HitRecord.
As the letter gains traction, Stein hopes it will reverberate beyond the tech community.
“Antisemitism is an insidious form of discriminaton in that it can be below the surface,” she said, “which is why I think it’s important, when it bubbles above the surface, to be called out.”
Read the full letter below.
Tech Leaders Against Anti-Semitism
If we’re going to stand against hate in all its forms, we need to stand against anti-Semitism. Too few Americans acknowledge that anti-Semitism — prejudice against Jewish people — exists. It is an insidious and long-standing hatred.
Yet, the events of recent weeks cannot hide the truth. A violent mob macing and punching a man in New York wearing a yarmulke. Shattered synagogue windows and attacks on Jewish community centers. A group of people throwing bottles and yelling “die dirty Jew” at a dinner in LA. To be too Jewish in America, or to be a Jew, is still a dangerous mark.
The pain and the fear around these violent attacks reverberates against the unshakable memory of the Holocaust. This horrific mass murder of Jews showed us how deep anti-Semitism runs, and what can happen when we allow hate against people because of their religion, race, sexuality, or any other aspect of their identity.
Jews believe in tikkun olam, the idea that we have a responsibility to repair the world. At their best, Jews stand with the oppressed, as Jews have so often been throughout history. In America, that means standing with groups of all races, genders, sexualities, religions, and creeds to oppose hate that denies our humanity.
As business leaders, we have a collective responsibility to stand up for the society we want. Today, we stand against anti-Semitism and violence against Jews. This is true regardless of your views on Israel; this is about protecting people from the injustice of anti-Semitism and hatred.
We echo the voices of our government, who have also stood up against anti-Semitism. President Biden’s pledge against anti-Semitism, White House Director of Domestic Policy Susan Rice’s condemnation of anti-Semitic attacks, and Senators introducing an anti-Semitic hate crime act. Still, government action alone is insufficient.
We ask you to join us in standing against anti-Semitism, and in creating a more tolerant and just society for everyone.
Signatures:
Jordana Stein, CEO, enrich
David Rogier, CEO, MasterClass
Roy Bahat, Head of Bloomberg Beta
Alex Gurevich, Managing Director, Javelin Venture Partners
Shari Redstone, Chairman of ViacomCBS and president of National Amusements
Arianna Huffington, Co-founder Huffington Post and CEO Thrive Global
Dick Costolo, Managing Partner, 01 Advisors
Mark Pincus, Founder Chair, Zynga
Bobbi Brown, Founder, Jones Road Beauty
Baron Davis, Former NBA Player,
Arlan Hamilton, Founder, Backstage Capital
Neil Blumenthal, Co-CEO, Warby Parker
Dave Gilboa, Co-CEO, Warby Parker
Leslie Silverglide, CEO, Mixt Greens
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, CEO, HITRECORD
Marco Zappacosta, CEO, Thumbtack
Jessica Scorpio, Co-founder, Getaround
Anthony Goldbloom, CEO of Kaggle (a Google company)
Jared Morgenstern, COO, Raya
Jonathan Swanson, Co-founder and Exec. Chairman of Thumbtack
Josh Becker, State Senator, former CEO Lex Machina
Jack Altman, CEO, Lattice
Guy Gal, CEO, Side
Aileen Lee, Managing Partner, Cowboy Ventures
Ted Wang, Partner, Cowboy Ventures
Jana Messerschmidt, Founding Partner, #ANGELS
Tomer Cohen, CPO, Linkedin
Leah Felder Jenner, Actress, Singer
Mike Maples, Founding Partner, Floodgate
Somesh Dash, General Partner, IVP
Matt Ocko, Co-Managing Partner at DCVC
Karin Klein, Founding Partner, Bloomberg Beta
Sam Lessin, The Fin Exploration Company
Ilya Fushman, Partner, Kleiner Perkins
Amit Mukherjee, Partner, NEA
Jeremy Levine, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
James Cham, Partner, Bloomberg Beta
Christine Tao, CEO, Sounding Board
Jomayra Herrera, Partner, Reach Capital
Mike Ghaffary, General Partner, Canvas Ventures
James Kim, Partner, Qatalyst
Michael Hughes, Managing Director, Qatalyst
Erik Torenberg, Cofounder Village Global and Ondeck
Steve Harrick, General Partner, IVP
Eric Liaw, General Partner, IVP
Nupur Srivastava, CPO, Grand Rounds
Felicia Curcuru, CEO, Binti
David Eckstein, CFO, Menlo Security
Dennis Phelps, General Partner, IVP
Susan Alban, Partner, Renegade Partners
Jeremy Kranz, Managing Director, GIC
David Spector, President, ThirdLove
Jerry Dischler, VP/GM, Ads, Google
Noah Shanok, Founder, Stitcher,
Tali Rapaport, CEO, Tuck
Adam Gross, Investor
Clara Brenner, Managing Partner, Urban Innovation Fund
Mada Seghete, Co-founder, Branch Metrics
Dan Saper, Boundless Ventures
Margot Langsdorf, Principal, Rich Talent Group
Amy Saper, Partner, Accel
Josh Felser, Climactic CoFounder
Nick Soman, CEO, Decent
Rick Yang, General Partner, NEA
Robert Lopez, SVP, Justworks
Jules Maltz, General Partner, IVP
Adam B. Struck, Founder & Managing Partner, Struck Capital
Michael Daughtery, former CSO, Angellist
Michael Sharon, CEO, Taika
Daniel Zakowski, CEO of Ready, Set, Food
Turi Munthe, CEO, Parlia
Zach Goldstein, CEO, Thanx
Thomas Loverro, General Partner, IVP
Jonathan Triest, Partner, Ludlow Ventures
Nicole Behnam, Founder, Beyond Media
Uri Pomentraz, Venture Partner, Jackson Square Ventures
Marc Bridge, CEO, At Present
Erik Huberman, Founder and CEO, Hawke Media
Scott Silver, VP, Engineering Google and YouTube
Tara Levy, VP, Google
Sarah Hofstetter, President, Profitero
Rabi Gupta, CEO, EvaBot Inc
Marla Kaplowitz, President & CEO, 4A’s
Lisa Mann, CMO and MD, Raines Executive Search and Talent
Brad Schneider, CEO, Nomad Data
Matt Wurst, Global Client Lead, Jellyfish
Jim Greer, CEO, Bash Video
Michael Pollock, CEO, Intricately
Roseanne Wincek, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Renegade Partners
Aaron Cannon, VP Product, Jumpstart
Phillip Buckendorf, CEO, Airspace Intelligence
Kfir Gavrieli, Co-founder, CEO, Tieks
David Gutelius, CEO, Motiva AI
Isharna Walsh, CEO, Coral
Sean Downey, VP, Google
Andrew Fine, Partner, Novel TMT Capital
Jonathan Keidan, Founder, Torch Capital
Christian Oestlien, VP, Product Management, YouTube
Michelle Tandler, CEO, Life School
Allie Miller, Startups and VC, AWS
Olivier Adler, CFO, Shippo
Bob Abbott, Partner, Norwest
Ezra Galston, Founding Partner, Starting Line
Dan Levy, Partner, Bain and Co
Julie Lein, Managing Partner, Urban Innovation Fund
Ra Burde, Policy Advisor, Google
Harley Sugarman, CEO, Enigma
Rachel Tipograph, Founder & CEO of MikMak
Jake Poses, CEO, Jumprope
Ken Hertz, Senior Partner, HERTZ LICHTENSTEIN YOUNG & POLK
Ezra Galston, Founding Partner, Starting Line
Tal Briller, Sr. Director, VMware
Randy Lubin, CEO, Leveraged Play
Ido Leffler, Founder and CEO, Yoobi
Yael Mohan, Partner, Bain & Company
Chris O’Riordan, Head of Corporate Strategy and M&A, Interstate Batteries
Sarah Groen, Owner, Bell & Bly Travel
Jacqui Goldman, Corporate Development, Stripe
Pragav Jain, M&A and Corp Development, Waymo
Yohei Iwasaki, CEO, Anifie
Laurent Goldstein, Program Manager, Oracle
Benjamin Zenou, CEO & Founder, SimpliField
Tal Morgenstern, Partner, Lightspeed
T. Dupree Scovell, Managing Partner, Woodbine Development Corporation
John Krzywicki, Commercial lead, Invitae
Pascal Bensoussan, CPO, Ivalua
Michael Lebowitz, Founder & CEO, Big Spaceship
Jo Riley, CEO, Censia
Oded Pelled, CEO, MindKick Inc.
Tracy Lawrence, CEO, Love Engine
Danielle Russell, Managing Director, Google
Andrew Rogiet, Product Manager, Amazon
Danny Bernstein, Managing Director, Google
David Kaul, Managing Director, Google
Ben Fried, CIO, NYC Site Lead, Google
Abigail Posner, Director, Google
Laura Slabin, Director, Google
Jason Ostheimer, Co-Founder, Advancit Capital
Eric Moret, Director of Product Management, Lacework
Meital Amzallag, Am Detroit 2
Lionel Chocron, Chief Product Officer, Hedera
Catherine Lewi, Head of marketing business communications Google
Alan Chiu, CEO, Enya.ai
Mike Stein, Senior Tech Artist, Niantic
Danny Greene, VP Global Marketing, Curio Digital, Inc.
Joe Wilson, Managing Partner, Undeterred Capital
John Yi, Founder, Resonant Works
Thomas Pueyo, VP Product & Growth, author
Stefan Kratz, Managing Director, Phoenix Clean Power
Shely Aronov, CEO, InnerPlant
Kate Doerksen, CEO, Ditto
Brad Wolfe, Executive Director, Reimagine End of Life
Nathan Kondamuri, Co-CEO
Ben Arnon, Co-Founder & CRO, Curio Digital, Inc.
Frank Visciano, Managing Director, Visciano Group
Juan Hernandez, CEO, Curio Digital, Inc.
Mikhail Pecherskiy, CEO, ADG group
Charles Anderson, CEO
Ada Grigoriev, Head of User Support (Candidate) – HR Operations, Google
Jeff Fluhr, General Partner, Craft Ventures
Ooshma Garg, CEO, Gobble
Lisa Falzone, CEO, Athena Security
Jess Mah, CEO, Indinero
Robert Lopez, SVP, Justworks
Adam Swig, Adam Swig, Value Culture, Reboot
Shaun Gerry, Head of Industry, Google Marketing Platform
Gabe Klein, Head of Platform & Marketing, Obvious Ventures
Sharen Phillips,Head of US Channel Sales Partners, Google
Alex Fleshner, Group Manager, Strategic Account @ Google
Greg Fleishman, Co-Founder & CEO, Foodstirs
Gail Livingston, Head of Industry, Google
Veronica Juarez, Founder, arturo advisory
Ben Blumenrose, Designer Fund