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Microsoft fires a Jewish worker for taking part in the “Liberated Zone”
On Friday, August 29th, Microsoft fired a Jewish worker for taking part in the Liberated Zone protests that took place on August 26th.
During this protest, seven now-former Microsoft workers and community members staged a sit-in inside Microsoft executives’ Building 34, while others, including the now-fired worker, held a rally outside the building.
Microsoft stated that the reason for this firing was “misconduct in violation of company policy” in a firing notice provided to the worker.
The firing is the fifth of its kind in the past two weeks, following the firings of Anna Hattle, Riki Fameli, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan for participating in the Liberated Zone sit-in on August 26th and the Liberated Zone encampments on August 19th and 20th.
On August 28th, the former worker was contacted by their manager, informing them that Microsoft Human Resources (HR) would like to schedule a meeting and that they were being put on administrative leave. On August 29th, Microsoft HR then requested an in-person meeting that same day on short notice.
The worker declined the in-person meeting and suggested a virtual meeting instead. Microsoft HR refused, insisting on meeting in-person before firing the worker effective immediately.
At the protests on August 26th, the now-fired worker was part of the rally outside of Building 34 where current and former Microsoft workers delivered the No Azure for Apartheid petition outside of Microsoft executives’ Building 34. Rally participants unfurled an 18-foot scroll of the No Azure for Apartheid petition demands, along with the names of over 2,000 workers who have signed the petition since its launch in May 2024. In addition, the now-fired worker delivered a speech denouncing Microsoft for exploiting their labor to enable genocide while confronting the company’s long-standing campaign of repression and retaliation against workers who speak up.
“Appeals to the company’s official channels have been ignored, […], employees have been suspended and fired, […] and only last week, Microsoft sicced the brutal Redmond Police onto workers to punish them with violence for taking a stand,” the worker said.
While Microsoft executives continue to lie and falsely claim that they aren’t retaliating against their workers for speaking out about the company’s involvement in the Palestinian genocide, this firing is the latest in an ongoing series of clearly retaliatory, suppressive actions against workers of conscience.
These actions include the firings of Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli, for participating in a sit-in on August 26th; Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, for taking part in the Liberated Zone encampments on August 19th and 20th; Joe Lopez, for protesting during Microsoft Build 2025 Keynote; Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, for protesting at Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event on April 4th; and Hossam Nasr and Abdo Mohamed, for holding a vigil and fundraiser for Palestinian martyrs on October 24th last year.
As No Azure for Apartheid, we reiterate the Liberated Zone demands:
- Cut Ties with Israel
- Call for an End to the Genocide and Forced Starvation
- Pay Reparations to the Palestinians
- End the Discrimination Against Workers
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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