Amazon accused of discriminating against Arab American event
Amazon faced backlash for abruptly cancelling an Arab American event just days before it was set to take place at its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, Middle East Eye reported on April 17th.
The National Arab American Heritage Month Commemoration, scheduled for April 9th, intended to pay tribute to the accomplishments of Arab Americans. The cancellation has ignited fears of discrimination.
The event had been in the making for months, with organisers joining forces with Amazon’s employee resource group and Arabs at Amazon to work on the logistics aspect of the event. Despite booking speakers, musicians, and securing nearly 300 guests, Amazon announced just 48 hours before the event that it would be “postponed”.
Warren David, co-founder of the Arab America Foundation (AAF), expressed his frustration with Amazon’s actions. David said: “It was quite disheartening for us to be denied doing this event by Amazon after we had booked all of these different speakers.”
David added: “We felt Amazon were trying to find loopholes to not hold the event.” The Saint Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church in Potomac, ended up hosting the event at the last minute. The organisers claim the event’s venue change cost them 100 guests.
Arabs at Amazon had reportedly spoke of internal pressure within Amazon, with organisers claiming that the company had expressed concerns about certain attendees, including Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
This incident follows a similar event in 2023 when the AAF’s annual summit was meant to take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld was called off by the hotel, over security concerns. The Department of Justice later filed a complaint against the hotel for discriminatory behaviour, claiming the cancellation was based on national origin.
David, whose organisation focuses on celebrating Arab American culture rather than politics, expressed concern that the climate of discrimination against Arabs and Muslims is at its worst. “This is probably the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he said.
Middle East Eye
