Former Microsoft employees claim retaliation after being fired over Palestinian vigil

REDMOND, Wash. — Two former Microsoft workers said they are unfairly dismissed from work for holding a vigil for Palestinians who were killed and injured by Israeli military forces.

Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr announced the terminations at a news conference hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Friday. They have been joined by other tech workers who allege similar discrimination by companies like Apple and Google.

“There has been a systematic campaign of intimidation and silencing of Arab and Palestinian voices,” Nasr said. “To Microsoft leaders and executives, if you think our firing will in any way disrupt our movement or slow down our campaign, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

Nasr and Mohamed helped organize a vigil last week to mourn the innocent victims of Israel’s war against Hamas. They said other employees were organizing events for other causes on the Redmond campus and wanted to do the same. The vigil and fundraiser took place at lunchtime at the company’s headquarters in Redmond.

A Microsoft spokesperson said they violated company policies, so they were fired.

“I just didn’t get a clear answer as to what policy I was violating, despite doing research and doing the work to understand Microsoft policies,” Mohamed said.

Microsoft said it told workers to have the event on public property and that speakers were not allowed because it would be disruptive to coworkers. The company’s spokesperson said these guidelines were ignored.

“At no time did anyone from Microsoft security tell us, either through prior communications or in person during the event, that sound amplification would be a problem,” Nasr said.

Both workers are part of a campaign called No Azure for Apartheid, which is trying to get Microsoft to end its contracts with the Israeli military. Azure is a cloud computing system that Israel uses to carry out attacks against Hamas in Gaza. Palestinian civilians, including thousands of children, were also killed.

“We demand that Microsoft stop providing the Israeli military with the technology to commit an ongoing genocide against the Palestinians,” said a current Microsoft employee who spoke at the news conference but did not want to be identified.

No Azure for Apartheid is circulating a public petition to end sales of Azure cloud and AI services to the Israeli military. The petition also calls for more protection for employees against discrimination.

Earlier this year, Google fired more than 50 workers who protested the technology the company was providing to the Israeli government during the Gaza war.

Both Mohamed and Nasr say they remain committed to challenging the tech industry and what they see as discriminatory bias against Arab people and complicity in the deaths of Palestinians.

“Every second is a good time to talk. Every place is the right place to speak and every way is the right way to speak,” Mohamed said.

Microsoft disputed allegations by workers that it discriminates against Palestinians and ignores their concerns, but cracks down on any anti-Semitic behavior. A spokesperson wrote: “Regarding allegations, the company investigates concerns without regard to point of view and imposes discipline based on the facts of each matter. It would be inaccurate to frame this story otherwise. The company has taken disciplinary action regarding statements on several sides of these issues.