‘Free Palestine’ Chants Interrupt Sundar Pichai’s Stanford Commencement Speech as Students Stage Walkout

Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s commencement address at Stanford University was interrupted by a student walkout on Sunday, as graduates protesting Google’s ties to the Israeli government left the ceremony chanting “Free Palestine.”

More than 100 students participated in the demonstration during Stanford’s 135th commencement ceremony, according to organisers. The protest was led by Students for Justice in Palestine and the No Tech For Apartheid campaign, both of which have been critical of Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government.

Pichai, a Stanford alumnus who earned a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from the university in 1995, had returned to his alma mater as the keynote speaker for the Class of 2026.

The walkout unfolded as Pichai delivered his address, with some protesters chanting slogans while leaving the venue. A section of the audience also voiced its displeasure, reflecting the deep divisions that continue to surround the war in Gaza and the role of major technology companies in government contracts linked to the conflict.

At the centre of the protest is Project Nimbus, a reported $1.2 billion agreement under which Google and Amazon provide cloud-computing services to Israeli government agencies.

Critics, including some employees at both companies, have argued that the technology could potentially support Israeli military operations. Google has repeatedly rejected that claim, maintaining that the contract covers standard government cloud services and is not intended for weapons development or intelligence-related military activities.

The controversy has sparked unrest within Google itself.

Over the past two years, employees have organised protests, office sit-ins and public campaigns demanding greater transparency about how the company’s technology is being used. Several demonstrations at Google’s offices in New York and California led to arrests and disciplinary action.

Google has since dismissed dozens of employees connected to those protests. The company said those workers violated workplace policies and disrupted operations. Protest groups, however, have accused the company of silencing dissent and punishing employees for raising ethical concerns.

In a message to employees earlier this year, Pichai defended open discussion within the company but stressed that workplaces should not become arenas for political confrontation that disrupt colleagues or business operations.

That position has done little to calm criticism from activist groups and some employees, who argue that workers deserve greater visibility into how technologies they help build are deployed.

The debate has increasingly spread beyond Silicon Valley and onto university campuses.

Stanford’s commencement protest is the latest example of how the war in Gaza continues to shape student activism across the United States. Similar demonstrations have taken place at several universities in recent months, reflecting broader concerns about the relationship between technology companies, government contracts and armed conflict.

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