Dr. Ruba Borno, a senior Vice President at Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently stirred controversy by wearing a necklace featuring the map of "Palestine from the river to the sea" in a promotional video for the company's upcoming re:Invent conference.
Many are outraged by the anti-Israel message, particularly given Amazon's silence regarding the abduction of its employee, Sasha Troponov, on October 7, who is being held captive by Hamas.
In the video, Borno invited viewers to join the tech event set to take place in December in Las Vegas. However, a striking piece of jewelry—a necklace shaped like the map of Israel but displaying the Palestinian flag in place of the Star of David—dominated attention.
The necklace’s message is clear
The necklace’s message is clear: “Palestine from the river to the sea,” a phrase widely considered antisemitic and a call for the destruction of Israel.
Borno’s choice has sparked anger, particularly as it comes in the wake of Troponov’s kidnapping. Troponov, an Israeli hardware engineer at Amazon, was abducted by Hamas and is among 101 hostages still held by the terrorist group.
Amazon has yet to make a public statement on either Troponov’s abduction or Borno’s politically charged accessory.
Last year, in December 2023, Troponov’s colleagues launched the #coffee4Sasha initiative on social media, encouraging supporters to drink coffee daily at 3:00 p.m., a tradition of Troponov's, and post with the hashtag #coffee4Sasha as a symbol of solidarity.