Microsoft has fired two employees from Egypt who organized a vigil to honor Palestinians killed in the Gaza war. One of them had previously been highlighted by the watchdog group Stop Antisemitism, which urged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to take action against him for his public statements about Israel.
The employees, Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr, were part of a coalition called “No Azure for Apartheid.” This group consists of Microsoft workers who oppose the company’s sale of cloud-computing technology to the Israeli government.
Mohamed and Nasr said the vigil held on Thursday at the Microsoft office was not meant to challenge company policies. They compared it to other company-approved events aimed at helping people in need.
“We have many colleagues at Microsoft who have lost family, friends, or loved ones,” Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist, told the Associated Press. “But Microsoft didn’t provide us with a space where we could come together, share our grief, and honor the memories of those who can no longer speak for themselves.”
On Friday, Microsoft confirmed it had terminated the employment of some individuals in line with its internal policies but did not provide further details. “We are dedicated to maintaining a professional and respectful work environment,” the company said in a statement. “Due to privacy and confidentiality considerations, we cannot provide specific details.”
Nasr explained that the purpose of the vigil was to honor victims of the war in Gaza and to highlight “Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide.”
He also noted that Stop Antisemitism announced his firing on social media more than an hour before he was officially informed by Microsoft. The group did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how it learned about the termination.
Tech companies like Microsoft and Google have faced criticism from employees for supplying technology to the Israeli government amid the Gaza conflict. Many protests have centered around “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government.
