Intel fired Jewish employee who complained about antisemitic supervisor – lawsuit

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A former senior employee of Intel filed a lawsuit against the giant chipmaker Tuesday alleging he had been fired in April from its New York office after complaining about an antisemitic supervisor.

The Israeli ex-vice president of engineering had been placed in January under a vice president of customer success, Alaa Badr, whose hatred of the Jewish state was evidenced by his “liking” many anti-Israel posts on social media ever since the Hamas invasion of Gaza envelope communities on October 7 sparked the ongoing war, the court papers said.

The management move was made even though in late 2023 the Israeli’s former boss had filed a complaint with the company on his behalf over Badr’s approval of such posts as “Praise be to God, the trampling was done. May God bless you, our Qassams!” referring to Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, and images of Israeli soldiers being strangled by “Gaza.”

The Egyptian-born Badr also “pressured” his subordinate to tell him if other colleagues were Israeli and “sneered that there were ‘so many Israeli employees in our company,’” the suit stated.

“He was reporting to, and forced to interact daily with, an individual whom he knew would celebrate the murder, and even the burning alive, of his immediate family members,” the suit stated.

Although his dismissal had been couched as a cost-cutting measure, the plaintiff said that his position was then filled – by someone who espoused the same anti-Israel sentiments as Badr.

The fired man, who has served in the IDF, has asked to file his claim as John Doe due to his fear of the “significant danger of being subjected to harassment, threats, and physical violence,” if his name was published, said the suit.

“It is inexcusable that Intel not only condones this type of behavior but retaliated against a former (IDF soldier) for complaining about deeply disturbing tropes that were posted on social media by his boss,” the Israeli’s lawyer, Doug Wigdor, said in a statement. “This must stop.”

The lawsuit is demanding recovery of Doe’s lost pay and unspecified damages due to the violation of his federal civil rights and New York State and city human rights.

Badr and his own supervisor are also named as defendants in the case.

When asked for comment, Intel said it does not discuss pending court cases, but that “We have a longtime culture of diversity and inclusion and we do not tolerate hate speech.”