Amazon suspends Palestinian engineer after criticism over Israel ties, he says, ‘I am left with no choice but to resist’

By Admin

13 Sep, 2025

E-commerce giant Amazon has come under scrutiny after suspending a Palestinian engineer who publicly criticised the company’s collaboration with the Israeli government. The case highlights growing tensions within the tech industry over corporate contracts tied to geopolitical conflicts.

Suspension of Ahmed Shahrour

Ahmed Shahrour, a Palestinian software engineer based in Seattle and employed by Amazon’s Whole Foods, was informed on Monday morning that he had been suspended with pay “until further notice.” The suspension followed his posts on internal Slack channels criticising Project Nimbus a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract signed in 2021 by Amazon and Google to supply technology to the Israeli government.

According to a report by CNBC, Amazon’s human resources team told Shahrour that his posts may have violated multiple company policies. His official email access, internal tools, and Slack posts were also revoked as part of the suspension. However, Shahrour claimed the company did not specify which policies had been breached.

What Shahrour Wrote Against Amazon

Shahrour took to several internal Slack channels and also sent a letter directly to Amazon executives, including CEO Andy Jassy, urging the company to cancel Project Nimbus.

In his letter, Shahrour drew a direct link between his work and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza:
“Every day I write code at Whole Foods, I remember my brothers and sisters in Gaza being starved by Israel’s man-made blockade. I live in a state of constant dissonance: maintaining the tools that make this company profit, while my people are burned and starved with the help of that very profit. I am left with no choice but to resist directly,” he wrote.

He also alleged that Amazon has attempted to silence employees who express support for Palestine or voice opposition to Israel’s military actions.

The Controversial Nimbus Contract

Project Nimbus, launched in 2021, is a multi-billion-dollar deal under which Amazon and Google provide the Israeli government with cloud computing services, data centres, and AI tools. Critics argue that such technology could be misused in surveillance or military operations.

While Amazon has remained largely silent on the project, it has stated in general terms that it supplies technology to “customers wherever they are based.” Google, meanwhile, has clarified that its services to the Israeli government are not directed at “highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads.”

Amazon’s Response

Without directly referencing Shahrour’s suspension or his letter, Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser told CNBC:
“We don’t tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behaviour or language of any kind in our workplace, and when any conduct of that nature is reported, we investigate it and take appropriate action based on our findings.”

The company has not confirmed whether Shahrour’s comments on Project Nimbus directly led to his suspension.

Broader Pattern in Tech Industry

Shahrour’s suspension is not an isolated case. Employees across major tech firms have increasingly protested against business deals involving the Israeli military.

• In April 2024, Google dismissed 28 employees after protests against Project Nimbus.
  
  

• In August 2025, Microsoft fired two employees who had participated in demonstrations at its headquarters.
  
  

• Other companies have reportedly heightened security at conferences due to rising employee activism.
  
  

This trend underscores a growing divide between tech workers demanding ethical accountability and corporations defending lucrative government contracts.

Conclusion

The suspension of Ahmed Shahrour raises fresh questions about corporate responsibility, employee rights, and the role of big tech in geopolitics. While Amazon investigates, the case has already amplified concerns about how dissent is treated within powerful corporations.

As Shahrour himself stated, the struggle for him is deeply personal: a conflict between his role as an engineer and his identity as a Palestinian witnessing the ongoing crisis in Gaza. His suspension adds to a growing debate on whether technology firms should prioritise profits over ethical responsibility in times of conflict.