URGENT PETITION TO GOOGLE CEO SUNDAR PICHAI

Mr. Pichai,

I am writing today regarding a matter of great concern to Jews and Jewish communities around the world, and especially to survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and their families.

Back in September 2015, Dr. Jens-Christian Wagner, the director of the foundation ‘Stiftung Niedersächsische Gedenkstätten’ and of the Bergen-Belsen Memorial, wrote a letter to Google Deutschland calling for the removal of offensive songs by the neo-Nazi band ‘Kommando Freisler’ from YouTube that glorify Hitler and the mass murder of six million Jews. No action was taken.

Following recent pressure from the World Jewish Congress and its supporters around the globe, versions of these vile songs, such as In Belsen, were removed in May of 2015, but some still remain accessible on YouTube, as do many other songs by the same band and other neo-Nazi groups. These songs constitute incitement to hatred and are in gross violation of YouTube’s terms of service. Why is Google dragging its feet in removing this content, especially given the recent commitment you and other online giants, like Facebook and Twitter, recently made to remove such content?

As a member of the World Jewish Congress, American Section, I am calling on Google and YouTube, in the strongest possible terms, to take all necessary steps to live up to your promise and remove, once and for all, this offensive and obscene material that is fueling a dramatic rise in anti-Semitic incidents around the world.

Google and YouTube must assume corporate responsibility and take a more proactive approach toward alleviating this serious problem. The World Jewish Congress stands ready to assist you in identifying offensive material.

Signed: