An Amazon executive is encountering backlash on social media after appearing in a company video wearing a pro-Palestinian necklace, leading numerous Prime users to threaten subscription cancellations.
Dr. Ruba Borno, vice president of Global Specialists and Partner Organizations at Amazon Web Services (AWS), was shown wearing the necklace while promoting an upcoming company conference in Las Vegas this fall.
The necklace, designed in the shape of Israel and featuring a Palestinian flag, represented the Palestinian push for statehood.
Amazon senior VP at AWS, Ruba Borno, wore a Palestine map necklace in an official company video inviting people for a conference.
— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) October 13, 2024
Does @rubaborno know that the map means "from the river to the sea" and calls for the killing of all the Jews of Israel?
Does she know that Amazon… pic.twitter.com/5bn0XUGYRx
Many social media users viewed this move as outrageous, particularly since the company has remained silent about Sasha Troponov, an Israeli employee who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Amazon has faced criticism for not publicly calling for his release.
Numerous Prime users on X announced their intention to cancel their subscriptions and demanded the termination of the 42-year-old employee.
“How about all Jews and Israel loving Americans boycott Amazon for one week. That’s the only power we have to make a dent in Amazon Jew hatred,” one user wrote.
Disgusting: In a company video, an Amazon exec wears necklace with a map of Israel with a Palestinian flag across it.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) October 12, 2024
At the same time, Amazon has yet to acknowledge that one of its employees is still being held hostage by Hamas. pic.twitter.com/CqKAMW41lW
“Ruba Borno one of yours? Wearing the antisemitic necklace? Look, it’s hate speech, and frankly, really bad messaging to support mass rapists. Fix this or I’m cancelling,” another user wrote.
Some users directly addressed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about the incident.
“@amazon @PrimeVideo @JeffBezos a few weeks ago I cancelled my subscription to Netflix because of their political contributions,” one user wrote. “Now, I’m faced with Ruba’s video and will cancel my prime video subscription unless she is terminated. Tick tock.”
Borno, a Palestinian originally from Kuwait, moved to the U.S. with her parents during the first Gulf War in 1990, according to the Daily Mail. She earned her degrees in electrical engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of Michigan.
Following a loss of thousands of subscribers, Amazon has removed the video and stated that it was not intended to be political.
“The video shot was not meant to be a political statement, but we’ve taken down the video and will repost a new one in the coming days,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
Absolutely unacceptable. This act comes as Sasha Troufanov, an Amazon employee, was kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas, and is among the 101 hostages still held by the terrorist group. Amazon has later apologized for the video, and took the video down. pic.twitter.com/eWDTYnPjZC
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) October 15, 2024
Borno seems to have deleted and privatized her social media accounts. She joined the company in November 2021.
Previously, she worked at Experian, Cisco, and the Boston Consulting Group. This isn’t Amazon’s only controversy; last month, Resist the Mainstream reported that the company faced backlash for perceived political bias in Alexa’s responses to questions about former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
