The ongoing suffering, grief, and anger of Israelis and Palestinians caused by the Israel-Hamas war is affecting millions of people around the world. It has also caused stress, if not commotion, in many institutions around the world, leading some leaders to speak, others to stay silent, some to be admonished or even forced to quit. As we noted last week, there is no easy way for a company to navigate these waters.
That's why a note from Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, sent to her company’s employees ahead of a previously planned visit to the Middle East this week, caught my attention. It struck a balance between speaking up meaningfully and avoiding alienating anyone. These two paragraphs stood out to me:
