Technology firm offers jobs to students leaving university over antisemitism

US-based data company Palantir has launched an initiative to provide students who are facing antisemitism on college campuses jobs at the company.

The company, which provides software to the NHS and US army, and has offices across the world including in London and Tel Aviv, said it is “creating space for new full-time roles, internships, and fellowships for students.

“These opportunities will be open to all university students, regardless of background, who stand in opposition to the rising and unchallenged antisemitism at institutions of higher learning.”

Posting on both LinkedIn and X a few days ago, Palantir stated that is “committed to defending the principles that make democratic rule possible” along with “a rejection of narrow thinking, including fear and scepticism of the other and outright bigotry.”

It also called out the “egregious levels of antisemitism in our society, especially at our most elite educational institutions” and added, “Some of these organisations seem structurally incapable of taking any steps to reform themselves.

“Students on campuses are terrified and have been instructed by administrators to hide their Judaism. We are launching an initiative for students who because of antisemitism fear for their safety on campus and need to seek refuge outside traditional establishments of higher education. They are welcome to join Palantir, and we are setting aside 180 positions for them immediately.”

In an interview with Barron’s, Palantir CEO and co-founder Alex Karp said he decided to launch the program following a Congressional hearing last Wednesday 6 December where presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were questioned about the increase in hostility to Jewish students at the universities but declined to say outright that calling for the genocide of Jews violated the school’s code of conduct. Elizabeth Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, has since resigned from her position as leader of the college.

“I keep hearing stories of Jewish students who are terrified to go to class,” Karp said. “We thought we could be impactful by acting first and getting others to take note of it. We’ve crossed a threshold here.”

Karp said that the situation has reached a point where “we can’t rely on the leaders of elite educational institutions” to defend Jewish students. “I had to watch their performance twice to believe it was real,” he said of the Congressional hearing. “Their response is unfathomable.”

Since 7 October, Palantir has been openly supportive of Israel. About a month ago it ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times stating: “Palantir Stands with Israel.”

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Palantir was founded by Peter Thiel, Nathan Gettings, Joe Lonsdale, Stephen Cohen and Alex Karp in 2003. The software company has been working with the NHS since 2021, when it was chosen, supported by a group of companies including Accenture, PwC, NECS and Carnall Farrar, to help deliver a Federated Data Platform (FDP) to reduce the administrative burden on staff.

Palantir is inviting students to apply for the job opportunities via this link; https://palantir.events/winter2023