Without permission, two Microsoft employees held a vigil for “victims of the Palestinian genocide” at the company’s headquarters in Washington state last Thursday. Later that same day, both of the event’s organizers were fired.

“Due to privacy and confidentiality considerations, we cannot provide specific details,” Microsoft shared in a statement the following day. They did clarify that they “ended the employment of some individuals” — Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr — “in accordance with internal policy,” and that they remain “dedicated to maintaining a professional and respectful work environment.” According to The Jerusalem Post, Mohamed and Nasr “were part of a coalition of Microsoft employees who called themselves ‘No Azure for Apartheid,’ in alleged protest against the sale of the Microsoft cloud-computing technology to Israel’s government.”

The former Microsoft employees told the Associated Press that Microsoft has “many community members … who have lost family, friends or loved ones.” Mohamed felt that “Microsoft really failed to have the space for us where we can come together and share our grief and honor the memories of people who can no longer speak for themselves.” However, some outlets have highlighted the fact that of the two, “Nasr was previously subject to internal investigations by Microsoft on more than one occasion, including for posting antisemitic memes online, according to his social media.” He was also exposed for calling Microsoft “an evil Zionist corporation facilitating and empowering a genocide” in a post on Instagram.

“Nasr co-founded Harvard Alumni for Palestine,” The Post Millennial reported, “and was co-president of the university’s Palestine Solidarity Committee, an alternative name for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) which is linked to terrorism and the antisemitic Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement against the Jewish state.” Mohammad, the outlet added, shared on LinkedIn that “he needs to find new employment in the next 60 days or face deportation.”

Ever since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year, there have been numerous and consistent protests across the globe. Within the last year, largely due to left-wing activism, cases of anti-Semitism have “surged by 200% when compared to the same period the year before.”

Several universities faced anti-Israel protests that caused chaos on campuses. In many instances, Jewish students were blocked from getting to class as Hamas supporters set up encampments and barriers. In July, anti-Semitic activists took to Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, tearing down and burning American flags and assaulting police officers. Many of these protests went largely without consequence. It now appears that an increasing number of universities and companies are choosing to clamp down on destructive and disruptive behavior.

Microsoft’s decision to fire Mohamed and Nasr is not a unique occurrence. In April, Google fired up to 50 employees in connection with the actions of the “No Tech for Apartheid” group that protested against “the company’s cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government.” Earlier this month, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group at Brown University was suspended due to “alleged threats and intimidating actions during a campus event” such as “banging on cars, screaming obscene language and making racial comments toward others.” Daily Caller explained how “the demonstrators were protesting the university’s decision to not divest from ten companies linked to Israel, following an Oct. 9 divestment vote.”

Asked whether companies at large are starting to adopt stricter rules around protests, Chris Gacek, senior fellow for Regulatory Affairs at Family Research Council, replied, “Every company has its own culture. It strikes me that there may be sort of a recognition that, in order to run a company like Microsoft,” there has to be “some sort of free range of ideas and expression,” he told The Washington Stand, adding, “You can’t really have this kind of thing going on” where employees are putting their opinions front and center without company approval.

Additionally, Gacek addressed the likelihood that some companies, such as Microsoft, may at least recognize that “October 7th was a big deal.” It can be “a daunting recognition,” he emphasized, and it’s to the benefit of organizations to be sensitive to how they react to it. However, Gacek ultimately came to the conclusion that what’s unfolding may be something “we just have to let play out.” Only Microsoft can give their exact reasons for why they fired Mohammed and Nasr, and they have chosen to keep it to themselves.

“We’re not in the company,” Gacek noted. “It’s one thing to sort of read it from a story from the outside,” but from the inside, many of these organizations that are starting to shut down protests could simply be in “a position [where] they’re just sick of it” and “don’t want to turn their company into … [an] environment that’s politicized and nasty.” Microsoft and others are reacting to “a lot of things in the culture” right now,” Gacek added. “Reasonable people [can see] the coercive nature of the treatment of Israel.”

“Maybe the tide is turning,” Gacek speculated.