ADL boss slams CEOs who stay silent after Hamas attacks

BUSINESS INSIDER

The chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League has said that “history will judge” CEOs who are silent on the atrocities committed by Hamas, in an interview with CNN.

Jonathan Greenblatt said that the corporate reaction to the brutal attacks, which have killed over 1,200 people, has been “disappointing at best, disastrous at worst,” with many bosses reluctant to speak out because they “think it’s too political.”

“In a world in which they are butchering babies, and they are raping women and talking about destroying the Zionist entity, for some reason, most CEOs are ‘sitting it out,’” he told CNN.

“History will judge them. Where were you when your Jewish employees needed you?” he added.

Greenblatt’s comments come after Gaza-based militant group Hamas launched a series of surprise attacks on southern and central Israel on Saturday, with gunmen breaking out of the enclave and storming Israeli villages.

Israeli officials said over 1,000 people in Israel have died so far and an estimated 150 civilian and military personnel have been taken hostage within the Gaza Strip. There have been widespread reports that Hamas fighters committed atrocities against civilian populations, including the murder of women and children.

Israel has vowed to retaliate against Hamas, and has launched a wave of airstrikes against Gaza ahead of a possible ground invasion. Palestinian authorities have reported that 950 Palestinians have been killed so far, amid warnings that the besieged territory faces a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

Supplies of food, water, and electricity to Gaza have been cut off as Israel places the enclave under siege, with the Norwegian Refugee Council describing the move as amounting to “a policy of starving” Gaza’s roughly 2.2 million population.

The Israeli military has also been criticized for bombing noncombatants, amid reports that families were killed when the only border crossing open to civilians fleeing Gaza was bombed on Wednesday.

Many corporate leaders have already condemned Hamas’ attacks on civilians and the resulting violence. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted on X that he was “heartbroken by the horrific terrorist attacks on Israel and the escalating conflict,” and Hewlett Packard boss Antonio Neri described the attacks as “unjustified and inexcusable” in a post on LinkedIn.

However, Greenblatt urged those who have not already done so to speak out, telling CNN that companies owed it to their Jewish employees.

“In America, your Jewish employees are dealing with something that is qualitatively and quantitatively different than any time in living memory,” he said.

“Against this backdrop, I would think every corporate leader and every public person should be rushing to say something,” he added.

The ADL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

The post ADL boss slams CEOs who stay silent after Hamas attacks appeared first on Business Insider.