Many social campaigners and media commentators seem to instinctively assume that chief executives are the only voice in civil society.in the next few days Hamas’s brutal attack About Israel, Outstanding voice of kindness Both ends of the political spectrum call CEOs are perceived to be silent, and the narrative in the mainstream media is that business leaders are missing a critical moment in fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities.
This is a mistake. Missing from the action are other pillars of civil society, including major NGOs. In contrast, CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Google, Mastercard, Nvidia, Citigroup, Paul Weiss, Deloitte, Starbucks, UPS and Walmart have come out to condemn Hamas’ actions and demonstrate employee moral courage desired. Invasion.
One wouldn’t know that from misleading media reports.A recent misguided criticism made by a prominent human rights activist slam groups The response from the CEO community has been “disappointing at best and disastrous at worst.”
“In a world where they (Hamas) are killing babies, raping women and talking about destroying the Zionist entity, for some reason most CEOs are ‘standing back’… Most CEOs think it’s too political . It is disturbing that at a moment when the problem has become clear, the response has been so confusing,” the activist said.
In a misguided attempt to drag in anti-woke politics, New York Post Column mocked, “Corporate America has been surprisingly reticent in its public expressions of condemnation… Wokeness remains a powerful force among C-suite executives; as evidenced by the virtual silence of its inhabitants over the tragedy in Gaza.”
A quick scan by our research team revealed that more than 75 household name multinational companies have issued statements strongly condemning Hamas terrorism, irrefutably condemning anti-Semitism and Atrocities committed by Hamas, and express support and solidarity with Israel and Jewish communities around the world.A full list of companies and CEOs who have spoken is available See it on our constantly updated webpagefilled with links to its public press releases, and the number is growing exponentially every day.
Companies make their voices heard through:
- Strongly condemn Hamas attacks and global anti-Semitism with clear moral clarity. Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, for example, emotionally wrote on Twitter: “I am heartbroken and angry to read the horrific news from Israel. Terrorist actions, including civilian hostage-taking , desecration of corpses, and murder of children and the elderly, violate the most basic principles of humanity and must be universally and strongly condemned. I say this not as a corporate leader, but as a scientist, son, and father .” Likewise, Brad Karp, chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison point out: “We as a community unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas… sympathize with and quickly condemn this grotesque and wanton terrorism… and stand with Israel.”
- Providing financial generosity and philanthropic support totaling hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.For example, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon Posted on LinkedIn Following news of Hamas’ attacks on Israel over the weekend and seeing an increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric and hate crimes, the Walmart Foundation will donate $1 million to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to support advocacy programs to educate people about the Holocaust Memorial Museum. The history and lessons of the massacre. The dangers of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism inspire people to confront hatred and promote human dignity. “
- Expressing solidarity with communities in Israel and around the world, as well as within their own companies.For example, Deloitte proudly display of israeli flag IBM CEO Arvind Krishna on his LinkedIn page conveyed loss A member of the IBM community wrote: “I am sad to report that an IBM employee lost his life defending his family and an IBM retiree lost his life. We honor their memory… and will work with both organizations in Israel1 :1 matching donation.”
We have Have a certain degree of credibility separation outing company They are true champions of the values of those who covet them. For the past 18 months, we have been documenting the positions of major multinational companies operating in Russia before Putin invaded Ukraine.Our efforts have been rewarded important media attention all around the world Because our transparent checklist helps inspire people More than 1,000 companies have left Russia. Not only was this the largest corporate stampede in world history; Severely weakening Putin’s war economy, economic productivity fell by 60% to 90% in many sectors. We continue to speak out about the remaining companies still operating in Russia today.
The strong moral stance taken by business leaders toward Israel is different and more nuanced than the Russian business exodus, because equally strong action is not possible. Unlike Russia, few Western companies operate in Gaza or deal with Hamas, so there has been no massive corporate exodus. Likewise, in recognition of the pain and suffering experienced by many of their own employees, some companies are understandably prioritizing internal employee email blasts and meetings with employee groups over public press releases touting solidarity.
Doing good is not antithetical to doing good, and investors, customers, employees and other groups increasingly expect this from CEOs.Not only did we find socially responsible companies before, often perform better than in the stock market, but recently Edelman Trust Barometer Data Show that most employees are around The world wants to see them Business owners take a stand on controversial public matters. Employees are ten times more likely to accept an offer if the CEO speaks out on global human rights issues.For the cynics who tell CEOs to “stay in your lane” belittle them for waking upwe asked: “Which lane are you referring to? The breakdown lane?”
The unmistakable moral clarity of the CEOs who have spoken out is particularly important as much of the rest of civil society appears to be inactive and curiously silent about Hamas’s actions against innocent civilians who are subjected to torture. It is reported that 80% The victims of October 7 included mass rape, binding, slashing and then burning alive, the death of dozens of young children, the massacre of babies before their parents’ eyes, and the dragging of naked bodies through the streets of Gaza to cheering crowds. Don’t you think human rights organizations would comment on this atrocity?
Instead, these groups deliberately offer contradictory or evasive rhetoric. Even in its initial statement on October 7 about Hamas’ crimes, Amnesty International repeatedly accused Israel of committing “war crimes”.In a subsequent statement, the Secretary-General of the human rights organization issue a statement accusing “Israeli forces” “launched massive forced displacements… to sow fear among the Gaza population, resulting in thousands of internally displaced Palestinians sleeping on the streets” – without even a hint of condemnation of Hamas. Maybe Amnesty International needs to remind people that it is Hamas, not the “Israeli army”, Unprovoked killing of 1,300 Israeli civilians, murdering babies, kidnapping grandmas, shooting teenagers at music festivals celebrating peace, raping, assaulting women and showing them off as trophies.Likewise, the U.S.-appointed CEO of UNICEF ridiculous appeal Hamas calls for “immediate cessation of hostilities” on first day of attack Save the Children respondswhich means that Israel has no right to defend itself after the war is over worst terrorist attack Since September 11th.Meanwhile, Oxfam continues to say that at its most senior levels priorities The goal is “to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine”.
Perhaps the only group whose response was more insensitive was higher education institutions, whose initial ambivalence prompted widespread criticism.Penn State’s new president finally quells backlash from some alumni, belatedly admit She could have handled the response better. Likewise, Harvard’s new president faced serious backlash from several prominent faculty members, including Larry. summers and Jason Furman, for her initial silence and eventual release of a powerful statement A few days later. Still, there are some positive examples worth celebrating.Wesleyan’s esteemed Michael Ross issued a brief statement condemning Hamas within The attack took place within minutes.
The evasiveness of some of these civil society leaders is reminiscent of the bold insights of heroic former Atlanta mayor and ordained Rev. Andrew Young. told me onceAs a close ally of Martin Luther King Jr., “I have more faith in business than I have in church, politics, and almost anything else. The reason is that there is more freedom and more courage in our free enterprise system.”In stark contrast to the deafening science or timid ambiguity coming from many others in civil society, business leaders are taking a stand against Hamas terrorism. Just as CEOs were at the forefront of global diplomacy and pulled their companies out of Russia after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, so too are they now at the forefront of moral clarity and social conscience after Hamas’s coup. Unjustifiable atrocities against IsraelI am a civilian. For that, they should be praised, not unsubstantiated whining or complaining from well-intentioned but self-defeating activists.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is Lester Crown Professor of the Practice of Management and senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management. He was named “Management Professor of the Year” by Poets & Quants magazine.
Steven Tian is director of research at the Yale University Institute for Executive Leadership and a former quantitative investment analyst at the Rockefeller Family Office.
The views expressed in Fortune Star review articles represent solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the following views and beliefs: wealth.
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