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Microsoft fires employees who organized vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza (apnews.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Microsoft has fired two employees who organized an unauthorized vigil at the company’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas.

The two employees told The Associated Press they were fired by phone call late Thursday, several hours after a lunchtime event they organized at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington.

Both workers were members of a coalition of employees called “No Azure for Apartheid” that has opposed Microsoft’s sale of its cloud-computing technology to the Israeli government. But they contended that Thursday’s event was similar to other Microsoft-sanctioned employee giving campaigns for people in need.

“We have so many community members within Microsoft who have lost family, lost friends or loved ones,” said Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist. “But Microsoft really failed to have the space for us where we can come together and share our grief and honor the memories of people who can no longer speak for themselves.”

Microsoft said Friday it has “ended the employment of some individuals in accordance with internal policy” but declined to provide details.

Google earlier this year fired more than 50 workers in the aftermath of protests over technology the company is supplying the Israeli government amid the Gaza war. The firings stemmed from internal turmoil and sit-in protests at Google offices centered on “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide the Israeli government with cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.

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[–] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 24 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Palestinians killed in Gaza aren't terrorists - they're the victims of a genocide.

Since October 7th, 44,000 Palestinians have been killed compared to 1,706 Israelis. The stats over the past few decades don't deviate much from this ratio. Israel is killing many times more Palestinians, and a higher ratio of children, they're seizing land, holding many times more hostages, and committing and proudly documenting countless warcrimes.

Does Palestine have the right to defend itself like Israel? What would that look like to you? I ask mostly because you're actively supporting an ongoing genocide while blaming the victims of that genocide while applying inconsistent, nonsensical standards across the two groups.

[–] rukaslan@ani.social 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes, the ratio is high. But how else it can be solved? Israel has given two states solutions several times, but they refused and wanted war. This is what happens in war. They need to learn from their mistakes.

[–] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I'll ask again because you dodged the important question - Does Palestine have the right to defend itself like Israel and what would that look like to you?

Which specific 2 state solutions are you referring to? I assume it's the ~1994 deal that collapsed because Israel couldn't stop their terrorism and assassinations throughout the negotiations, and the Partition Plan that violated the UN charter with respect to national self-determination and carved out the majority of the territory to the minority Israeli population.

To defend the genocide of Palestine as a necessary lesson reveals a let's say... interesting moral framework - particularly as Israel escalates aggression against Iran and Lebanon. Putting aside the obvious genocidal intent, rhetoric, and action, how does an exterminated population learn any lesson?

Your argument is the best possible case one could make for the genocide of Israel - they are the regional threat and aggressor - they are the ones that (by your sickening logic) need to be exterminated to teach them a lesspn. The outcomes of the actions you're defending have civilisation-ending consequences one way or another, and zero benefit - why do you hold these positions?