Microsoft fires two employees for unauthorized surveillance of Palestinian 'martyrs'

Microsoft fired two employees after organizing an unsanctioned vigil at the company's headquarters in honor of “victims of the Palestinian genocide.” Associated Press First reported this weekend.

The two men held surveillance at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on Thursday and were fired by phone call later that day, they said. Ap.

Abdo Mohammed and Hossam Nasr were part of a coalition of Microsoft employees calling themselves “No Azure for Apartheid” in protest against the alleged sale of Microsoft cloud-computing technology to the Israeli government.

On Friday, Microsoft released a statement saying it is “dedicated to maintaining a professional and respectful work environment. Due to privacy and confidentiality considerations, we cannot provide specific details.”

Mohammed, a data scientist originally from Egypt, said Ap That Microsoft “failed to find space for [employees] To come together and share [their] sadness.”

Mohammed added that he must now find new employment within the next two months, or face deportation.

Nasr said the vigil was in honor of Palestinian victims in Gaza and to “draw attention to Microsoft's complicity in genocide” due to the IDF's use of technology.

In a post on Instagram, Nasr called Microsoft “an evil Zionist corporation aiding and abetting a genocide.”

Nasr has previously been the subject of multiple internal Microsoft investigations, including for posting anti-Semitic memes online, according to his social media.

According to Nassar, he learned of his termination an hour before receiving a call from Microsoft, as he posted on social media from the group Stop Antisemitism.

Stop Antisemitism months ago called on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to take action against Nasr, who co-founded Harvard Alumni for Palestine and co-chaired the university's Palestine Solidarity Committee.

The Canary Mission has a page devoted to the history of Nasr's anti-Israel activities.

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Nasr has a series of posts on social media expressing opposition to both Israel and the US.

In a post on Instagram, featuring the burning of the US flag at a Palestinian rally, Nasr wrote that the flag “represents death, killing, destruction, suffering. This flag represents genocide, mass murder, mass graves. This flag represents beheaded, torn children. Organs- Limbs, charred bodies.”

“The death of the US empire and its killing machine,” he added. “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea.”

In a public statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and its Washington State Chapter (CAIR-WA) called on Microsoft to rehire and formally apologize to the two employees.

“This is yet another example of how employees of conscience standing up for human rights issues of our time are being silenced in the corporate world,” said CAIR-WA Executive Director Imran Siddiqui.

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said that, “In any other context, a corporation would celebrate its employees standing up for human rights and against genocide – 'except Palestine'.”