JERUSALEM – A lawsuit against Intel alleges that the company fired an Israeli software engineer after he reported his manager for liking social media posts supporting Hamas and celebrating the deaths of Israelis.
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The lawsuit claims that Alaa Badr, Intel’s vice president of customer success, liked several posts on the platform X that praised Hamas for killing Israeli soldiers. One post included an illustration of a Palestinian militant standing on the neck of an Israeli soldier. The engineer, a former member of the Israel Defense Forces, found Badr’s support for anti-Israel rhetoric distressing, especially since his family in Israel was harmed in a Hamas missile attack.
Despite being informed about Badr’s social media activity, Intel allegedly did not take action and assigned Badr as the engineer’s direct supervisor in New York. The lawsuit claims the engineer was uncomfortable working with someone who celebrated violence against Israelis.
Badr, an Egyptian Muslim, is accused of pressuring the engineer to identify other Israeli employees and expressing disdain over the number of Israelis at the company. The engineer, who had relocated to New York to assist in expanding a startup acquired by Intel, was fired in April, purportedly due to cost-cutting measures, despite a record of strong performance.
The lawsuit demands the engineer’s reinstatement and seeks punitive damages for alleged discrimination and retaliation. The engineer has requested anonymity, citing concerns over harassment due to rising anti-Semitic attacks amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Intel declined to comment on the lawsuit but emphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusion. The suit criticizes Intel for failing to protect its Israeli employees, despite relying heavily on them historically. Badr deleted his X account by March, and X later announced changes to make users’ likes private.
