Employees sign open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, calling on him to show ‘Palestinian lives matter’
Nearly 300 current and former Apple employees signed an open letter accusing the company of “wrongfully terminating” or disciplining several workers for expressing support for Palestine by wearing pro-Palestinian articles of clothing.
The letter, which has received 299 signatories, says that employees have been told by their superiors that anyone expressing support for Palestine in the form of “kaffiyehs, pins, bracelets, or clothing” has been told they are “breaking business conduct” and creating a “harmful environment”.
“Team members have even been wrongfully terminated for this small show of solidarity, while our leadership ignores the pain and suffering our co-workers and their families are facing in Gaza,” said the letter, reported by Wired Magazine on Tuesday.
The letter goes on to call on Apple CEO Tim Cook to acknowledge the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli forces have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, the majority being women and children, since it began its war on Gaza in response to the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw over 200 hostages taken back to Gaza.