British worker fired after condemning Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas

(JNS) A sewerage system worker in Britain was fired after condemning Hamas on the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre anniversary.

Damon Joshua was immediately suspended and later dismissed by the Severn Trent water company following a post he made on the company’s staff intranet website, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

Joshua wrote, “One year ago our valued partners and friends, Israel, were horrifically attacked by a group of violent and disgusting terrorists. I can say with confidence today that the vast majority of STW’s employees stand in solidarity with our Jewish, Israeli and Zionist colleagues against the evil of Islamist terror,” while attaching an image of the flag of Israel to his post.

The post was taken down shortly afterward, following internal complaints that “the terminology being used includes very derogatory words” and “is very one-sided,” according to the report.

“The post reflects poorly on Severn Trent’s reputation as a diverse and inclusive company,” one complainant remarked, according to The Telegraph.

After a disciplinary hearing, his managers informed Joshua that “this offence is in relation to a protected characteristic, specifically religious belief” and dismissed him for gross misconduct.

Just 33% of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel, Gallup poll finds
He was further told that “the language used in the post caused offence to [three] employees with different perspectives, particularly those with Muslim or Palestinian backgrounds.”

Speaking to The Telegraph, Joshua remarked that there is a “big difference” between Islamist terrorism and Islam. “Not all followers of Islam are Islamists and the attack was perpetrated by Hamas who are an Islamist terror organization,” he added.

His managers said that “the wording in the post explicitly suggests support of a particular geopolitical stance,” while his claim that the majority of STW staff supported Israel “creates exclusion and assumptions of solidarity.”

A STW spokesman said, “This is a complex employee relations case and it’s important to be clear that this is not the whole story nor an isolated incident.”

He went on to say, “And whilst it’s not appropriate to discuss the detail of an individual case, this relates to ongoing misuse of an apolitical work forum and the expression of views on a range of emotive topics, despite having been previously informed that this was not the appropriate forum to do so.”

The Telegraph cited sources within STW as saying that Joshua’s post was part of a wider pattern of him expressing opposition to a number of company initiatives, such as South Asian heritage events, LGBT inclusion days, and diversity and inclusion workshops.