Every Jewish House Democrat wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday urging the company to restore the default listings for International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Jewish American Heritage month to the company’s Google Calendar service.
The company removed the two commemorations, in addition to a series of other identity-based awareness events including Black History Month and Pride month, from its default Google Calendar late last year.
Critics saw the move as a signal of compliance with the Trump administration’s anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, while the company said that such remembrances — totaling in the hundreds — were maintained manually and that the process was, globally, no longer “scalable or sustainable.”
“As Jewish Members of Congress, we are deeply concerned with Google’s decision to remove International Holocaust Remembrance Day and Jewish American Heritage Month from the default calendar display and urge you to reverse this highly disappointing decision,” the House lawmakers, led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), wrote.
They said that, “Google’s decision to remove Jewish references from its default calendar is tantamount to a gut punch for the American Jewish community and is a repudiation of [Pichai’s] previously stated commitment” to combating antisemitism.
They argued that Google can help “shape public awareness” and that ensuring the two commemorations are recognized “is an important step in strengthening collective memory and combating hate.”
The Jewish Democrats said that the moves by Google would only worsen growing issues with a global lack of awareness and denial of the Holocaust, adding that ignoring Jewish American Heritage Month would overlook the contributions of Jewish Americans.
“Reversing Google’s decision will not stop hate or antisemitism in its tracks, but it will serve as an effective and necessary tool to combat this most ancient hatred and uplift the Jewish American community,” the lawmakers wrote. “Choosing to remain silent in the face of these ageless animosities, however, is a conscious decision to aid them.”
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, they noted, is a United Nations-designated holiday and Jewish American Heritage Month has been recognized annually by the U.S. government.
“One of the most effective tools for combating antisemitism and hate is education,” the lawmakers wrote. “One of the most versatile ways to honor those lost lives and remind ourselves that the fight against antisemitism did not end with the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, is ensuring users of your calendar are aware when these commemorations are honored.”
The House members asked Google to restore the two remembrances to its calendar, clarify its policies on how it chooses which holidays and remembrances to recognize and to engage with Jewish community stakeholders on how Google can “be a tool for public education and awareness” amid rising antisemitism.
The letter is the first public-facing statement from every member of the Congressional Jewish Caucus since Wasserman Schultz helped found it earlier this year.