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Microsoft Accused of Antisemitic Discrimination
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Microsoft Corporation denies Jews the right to form ethnic affinity groups despite maintaining a robust system of them for other identity categories, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has alleged in a blistering letter urging the tech giant to correct what it says constitutes a flagrant violation of civil rights meriting legal action.
According to the letter, Microsoft employees may join Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) which correspond to “ethnic or racial identity” and foster “extra opportunities for professional development, career advancement, and the ability to collectively oppose discrimination in the workplace.” However, the company rules out Judaism as the basis for starting a Jewish ERG, nor does it recognize Jews, as does the US government, as an ancestral group. Thus, Jews at Microsoft are excluded from a form of social networking that can boost a career at the company to the highest levels of success, according the Brandeis Center.
“Providing all employees equal access to professional benefits and opportunities, including Microsoft’s Jewish employees, is the right thing to do and is compelled by various federal and local anti-discrimination statutes,” said Brandeis Center co-chair Kenneth Marcus, who served as assistant civil rights secretary in the US Education Department under former President George W. Bush. “This discrimination must stop.”
ERGs also act as advocacy groups which combat discrimination, the Brandeis Center argues in the letter, providing employees a peer group which shares “their lived workplace experiences.” Additionally, the groups facilitate “corporate charitable giving” to community organizations providing essential social services and “educational events.” The groups further receive copious funding from the Microsoft Corporation’s department of human resources, an indicator of upper management’s faith in their purported missions.
“Jewish Microsoft employees are only permitted to organize themselves as an ‘Employee Community,’ a structure vastly inferior to an ERG in multiple ways,” the letter states. “Employee Communities receive no funding and only limited support from Human Resources and are not allowed to host educational events, participate in inclusive product design programs, or fork with external groups outside of the annual Microsoft Give campaign.”
It continues, “Moreover, Microsoft’s insistence on defining Jewish identity inconsistent with its Jewish employees’ own self-definition has contributed to an environment that many Jews at Microsoft view as indifferent to antisemitism at best and antisemitically [sic] hostile at worst. Surely a Jewish ERG at Microsoft could have helped Microsoft avoid repeatedly failing to issue appropriate statements condemning rising antisemitism similar to its statements concerning other -isms, and failing to recognize important events in the Jewish calendar as Microsoft does for employees of other identities.”
On Wednesday, the author of the letter, Rory Lancman, who is the Brandeis Center’s senior counsel and director of corporate initiatives, implored Microsoft to accept that “Jewish employees have the same professional needs and aspirations as other ethnic minorities.”
He added, “Instead of dictating the terms of Jewish identity to its Jewish employees, Microsoft should listen to them and accept that to be Jewish is to be part of a people, not merely a faith … [They] can’t be denied those same opportunities to express themselves collectively about antisemitism, seek a better working environment, and achieve professional advancement.”
Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Jewish professionals are increasingly experiencing workplace discrimination, as previously reported by The Algemeiner.
Earlier this month, a New York area labor union was accused of enabling antisemitic discrimination in complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), both US government agencies.
Submitted by the Brandeis Center, the complaints charge that the New York Legal Assistance Group’s (NYLAG) union — A Better NYLAG (ABN) — “actively obstructed” measures that would have reduced antisemitic activity at the nonprofit, which receives copious public funding from the local government. After nearly two years of alleged abuses and smear campaigns, the Brandeis Center said, Jewish NYLAG employees are seeking a legal remedy as a last resort to protect their rights and save an institution at risk of losing its reputation for fostering justice and equality before the law.
Antisemitism, allegedly, emerged at NYLAG and ABN following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, with employees using the workspace as a platform for endorsing the terrorist organization’s atrocities of rape and murder of the young and elderly. After, for example, NYLAG attempted to console Jewish employees by sending an email which acknowledged the severity of Hamas’s violence, ABN followed up by accusing Israel of “occupation and war crimes.” Such behavior continued in different forms at NYLAG, wholly endorsed by ABN, the Brandeis Center said.
At one point, a NYLAG employee allegedly distributed buttons which said, “Resisting colonialism is not terrorism.” Soon, pro-Hamas arts and crafts began appearing in NYLAG common spaces. “Respect existence or expect resistance,” said one homemade poster to which its creator clipped red and green butterflies. “Long live the resistance,” said another. Facing a deluge of complaints from outraged Jewish employees, NYLAG’s general counsel imposed a neutrality policy on the organization’s common spaces, forbidding partisan political expression that deviated from its purpose.
Rather than facilitating the policy’s success as an antidiscrimination measure, ABN, a chapter of United Autoworkers of America (UAW), accused the nonprofit of violating the “the National Labor Relations Act, which protects our right to protest unfair working conditions” and declared its intent to “file an unfair labor practice” charge against it. Avoiding a protracted legal fight with its own union, NYLAG never enforced the rule despite pleas from Jewish employees.
Meanwhile, antisemitism in academic medical centers located on college campuses is fostering noxious environments which deprive Jewish health-care professionals of their civil right to work in spaces free from discrimination and hate, according to a new study by the StandWithUs Data & Analytics Department.
Titled “Antisemitism in American Healthcare: The Role of Workplace Environment,” the study includes survey data showing that 62.8 percent of Jewish health-care professionals employed by campus-based medical centers reported experiencing antisemitism, a far higher rate than those working in private practice and community hospitals. Fueling the rise in hate, it added, were repeated failures of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives to educate workers about antisemitism, increasing, the report said, the likelihood of antisemitic activity.
“Academia today is increasingly cultivating an environment which is hostile to Jews, as well as members of other religious and ethnic groups,” StandWithUs director of data and analytics and study co-author Alexandra Fishman said in a statement. “Academic institutions should be upholding the integrity of scholarship, prioritizing civil discourse, rather than allowing bias or personal agendas to guide academic culture.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities
Palestinians carry aid supplies received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Switzerland has moved to shut down the Geneva office of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, citing legal irregularities in its establishment.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
With a subsidiary registered in Geneva, the GHF — headquartered in Delaware — reports having delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
According to a regulatory announcement published Wednesday in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) may order the dissolution of the GHF if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Swiss decision to shut down its Geneva office.
“The GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered branch,” the ESA said in a statement.
Last week, Geneva authorities gave the GHF a 30-day deadline to address legal shortcomings or risk facing enforcement measures.
Under local laws and regulations, the foundation failed to meet several requirements: it did not appoint a board member authorized to sign documents domiciled in Switzerland, did not have the minimum three board members, lacked a Swiss bank account and valid address, and operated without an auditing body.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these vehicles are more neutral.
Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort.
The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
The post Switzerland Moves to Close Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s Geneva Office Over Legal Irregularities first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Key US Lawmaker Warns Ireland of Potential Economic Consequences for ‘Antisemitic Path’ Against Israel
US Sen. James Risch (R-ID) speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Washington, DC, May 21, 2024. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch (R-ID) issued a sharp warning Tuesday, accusing Ireland of embracing antisemitism and threatening potential economic consequences if the Irish government proceeds with new legislation targeting Israeli trade.
“Ireland, while often a valuable U.S. partner, is on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering,” Risch wrote in a post on X. “If this legislation is implemented, America will have to seriously reconsider its deep and ongoing economic ties. We will always stand up to blatant antisemitism.”
Marking a striking escalation in rhetoric from a senior US lawmaker, Risch’s comments came amid growing tensions between Ireland and Israel, which have intensified dramatically since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Those attacks, in which roughly 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken hostage, prompted a months-long Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has drawn widespread international scrutiny. Ireland has positioned itself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s response, accusing the Israeli government of disproportionate use of force and calling for immediate humanitarian relief and accountability for the elevated number of Palestinian civilian casualties.
Dublin’s stance has included tangible policy shifts. In May 2024, Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state, becoming one of the first European Union members to do so following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The move was condemned by Israeli officials, who recalled their ambassador to Ireland and accused the Irish government of legitimizing terrorism. Since then, Irish lawmakers have proposed further measures, including legislation aimed at restricting imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, policies viewed in Israel and among many American lawmakers as aligning with the controversial Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
While Irish leaders have defended their approach as grounded in international law and human rights, critics in Washington, including Risch, have portrayed it as part of a broader pattern of hostility toward Israel. Some US lawmakers have begun raising the possibility of reevaluating trade and diplomatic ties with Ireland in response.
Risch’s warning is one of the clearest indications yet that Ireland’s policies toward Israel could carry economic consequences. The United States is one of Ireland’s largest trading partners, and American companies such as Apple, Google, Meta and Pfizer maintain substantial operations in the country, drawn by Ireland’s favorable tax regime and access to the EU market.
Though the Trump administration has not echoed Risch’s warning, the remarks reflect growing unease in Washington about the trajectory of Ireland’s foreign policy. The State Department has maintained a careful balancing act, expressing strong support for Israel’s security while calling for increased humanitarian access in Gaza. Officials have stopped short of condemning Ireland’s actions directly but have expressed concern about efforts they see as isolating Israel on the international stage.
Ireland’s stance is emblematic of a growing international divide over the war. While the US continues to provide military and diplomatic backing to Israel, many European countries have called for an immediate ceasefire and investigations into alleged war crimes.
Irish public opinion has long leaned pro-Palestinian, and Irish lawmakers have repeatedly voiced concern over the scale of destruction in Gaza and the dire humanitarian situation.
Irish officials have not yet responded to The Algemeiner’s request for comment.
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Israel Condemns Iran’s Suspension of IAEA Cooperation, Urges Europe to Reinstate UN Sanctions
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Christian Mang/File Photo
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Wednesday condemned Iran’s decision to halt cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog and called on the international community to reinstate sanctions to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Saar wrote in a post on X. “This is a complete renunciation of all its international nuclear obligations and commitments.”
Last week, the Iranian parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the IAEA “until the safety and security of [the country’s] nuclear activities can be guaranteed.”
“The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X.
The top Iranian diplomat said this latest decision was “a direct result of [IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi’s] regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency — a full decade ago — already closed all past issues.
“Through this malign action,” Araghchi continued, “he directly facilitated the adoption of a politically-motivated resolution against Iran by the IAEA [Board of Governors] as well as the unlawful Israeli and US bombings of Iranian nuclear sites.”
The Parliament of Iran has voted for a halt to collaboration with the IAEA until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed.
This is a direct result of @rafaelmgrossi‘s regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency—a full decade ago—already…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 27, 2025
On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian approved a bill banning UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country until the Supreme National Security Council decides that there is no longer a threat to the safety of its nuclear sites.
In response, Saar urged European countries that were part of the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal to activate its “snapback” clause and reinstate all UN sanctions lifted under the agreement.
Officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), this accord between Iran and several world powers imposed temporary restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
During his first term, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and reinstated unilateral sanctions on Iran.
“The time to activate the Snapback mechanism is now! I call upon the E3 countries — Germany, France and the UK to reinstate all sanctions against Iran!” Saar wrote in a post on X.
“The international community must act decisively now and utilize all means at its disposal to stop Iranian nuclear ambitions,” he continued.
The time to activate the Snapback mechanism is now!
I call upon the E3 countries- Germany, France and the UK to reinstate all sanctions against Iran!
Iran has just issued a scandalous announcement about suspending its cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy…— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 2, 2025
Saar’s latest remarks come after Araghchi met last week in Geneva with his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas — their first meeting since the Iran-Israel war began.
Europe is actively urging Iran to reengage in talks with the White House to prevent further escalation of tensions, but has yet to address the issue of reinstating sanctions.
Speaking during an official visit to Latvia on Tuesday, Saar said that “Operation Rising Lion” — Israel’s sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities — has “revealed the full extent of the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel, Europe, and the global order.”
“Iran deliberately targeted civilian population centers with its ballistic missiles,” Saar said at a press conference. “The same missile threat can reach Europe, including Latvia and the Baltic states.”
“Israel’s actions against the head of the snake in Iran contributed directly to the safety of Europe,” the Israeli top diplomat continued, adding that Israeli strikes have set back the Iranian nuclear program by many years.
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