Palestinian Software engineer Ahmed Shahrour has been suspended by Amazon, according to a CNBC report. Ahmed Shahrour was very critical of Amazon’s ties with Israel, and he criticized Amazon on the same issue on the company’s internal communication platforms, Slack. “It has come to Amazon’s attention that a post you made in multiple internal company Slack channels may violate multiple policies,” Shahrour received in a message from an Amazon HR representative.
Why has Ahmed been suspended?
The suspension is primarily based on Shahrour’s opposition to Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion joint cloud computing contract between Amazon, Google, and the Israeli government launched in 2021. In his letter to leadership, the three-year Amazon employee described living in “constant dissonance” while writing code for a company whose profits he believes support Israeli actions in Gaza.
What is Amazon’s stance?
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser declined to address Shahrour’s specific case but said the company doesn’t “tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behavior or language of any kind.” The company revoked Shahrour’s access to email and tools while conducting its investigation.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Shahrour has been saying that Amazon has been suppressing Pro-Palestinian voices. He also says that the company has terminated a French employee who criticised Israel on social media platforms, while an engineer was warned by the company for sharing articles on American doctors volunteering 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,” the report quoted Shahrour’s letter.“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 added.
Pro-Palestinians firing an industry trend?
Shahrour’s suspension follows a wave of employee terminations at other major tech companies over Israel-related protests. Microsoft fired four workers in August 2025 after they demonstrated at company headquarters, including two who staged a sit-in at President Brad Smith’s office. The terminated employees were part of the “No Azure for Apartheid” campaign demanding Microsoft cut ties with Israel.
Google took similar action earlier, terminating 28 employees in April 2024 following coordinated protests against Project Nimbus at the company’s offices. The demonstrations targeted both the Israeli government contract and internal labor conditions. The two companies have since increased security measures at their offices and conferences.
