Microsoft has terminated two employees who organized a vigil at its Redmond, Washington headquarters to honor Palestinians killed in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The employees were dismissed in phone calls on Thursday evening, hours after hosting a lunchtime event that they said was intended to support grieving colleagues.
The fired employees were active members of a coalition known as “No Azure for Apartheid,” a group of Microsoft staff opposing the company’s sale of cloud-computing services to the Israeli government. They argued that their vigil was comparable to other charitable events that Microsoft had previously supported for communities in need. Abdelrahman Mohamed, one of the organizers, expressed disappointment, stating, “Microsoft failed to provide a space for us to gather and honor those who have lost their lives.”
In a statement issued Friday, Microsoft confirmed it had ended the employment of some staff members “in accordance with internal policy,” without specifying details. Mohamed, originally from Egypt, now faces the challenge of finding a new job within two months to transfer his work visa and avoid deportation.
Another organizer, Hossam Nasr, said the vigil aimed to both remember those who lost their lives in Gaza and address Microsoft’s role in supporting the Israeli government through its technology. Nasr also claimed that Stop Antisemitism, a watchdog group, had disclosed his firing on social media over an hour before he received official notification from Microsoft. Earlier in the year, the group had publicly urged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to take action against Nasr for his criticisms of Israel.
This is not the first incident of employee firings within tech companies over support for Palestinians. Earlier this year, Google dismissed over 50 employees following internal protests over Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract signed with the Israeli government for cloud and AI services provided by Google and Amazon. Microsoft emphasized that it remains committed to upholding a “professional and respectful work environment” but refrained from providing specific details regarding the recent terminations, citing privacy and confidentiality concerns.
