From a motion filed today in Doe v. Intel Corp. (S.D.N.Y.); for more on the underlying lawsuit, see Intel Axes Israeli NYC Engineer Who Complained About Boss 'Liking' X Posts Cheering Hamas: Suit (N.Y. Post, Beri Kochman):
John Doe is a Jewish Israeli executive at Intel, a global multi-technology company, who proudly served in the Israeli Defense Forces ("IDF") before joining the company. At Intel, John Doe was forced to report to a supervisor—Intel Vice President Alaa Badr ("Badr")—who was openly and proudly supporting the terrorist organization Hamas and celebrating the deaths of Israelis after Hamas's brutal October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel which took the lives of over 1,000 innocent Israelis while hundreds more were taken captive by the terrorist group. Indeed, Badr openly liked social media posts—for anyone to see—celebrating the death of IDF soldiers, like John Doe, and celebrating "successful" Hamas missile strikes, including one that struck Mr. Doe's family home. In no uncertain terms, the heinous acts doled by Hamas on October 7, 2023 changed the landscape of the modern world for Israeli Jewish citizens worldwide.
The Israel-Hamas War that erupted after Hamas's October 7th attack has led to a frenetic and violent rise in hate crimes against Jews around the world, but specifically in New York where Plaintiff resides. According to the Anti-Defamation League (the "ADL"), antisemitic incidents in New York soared 110 percent in 2023—the highest number the ADL has ever recorded in New York and the second-highest number reported in any state across America. Indeed, nearly 14 percent of all antisemitic incidents reported nationwide in 2023 took place in New York State, and in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, the ADL recorded 815 antisemitic incidents in New York. These statistics, of course, only reflect the number of reported incidents. The actual numbers are likely significantly higher.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams recognized the inherent danger that Jewish people in New York face when he said that after October 7th, he was seeing a "normalization of antisemitism in New York…" while district attorneys representing all 62 counties in New York recognized the increase in violence, condemned violence against Jewish people and pledged to prosecute hate crimes aggressively. Despite this, however, violence against Jewish people in New York has continued to escalate in 2024 with antisemitic hate crimes climbing sharply by 45 percent in the first quarter of the year. According to New York Police Department ("NYPD") data, in July 2024 alone, the NYPD investigated 30 anti-Jewish offenses, and there have been 229 antisemitic hate crimes reported in just the first seven months of 2024.
These statistics speak to the reality that all Jewish people are facing, but former IDF personnel—like John Doe—are at an even greater risk of being targeted both domestically and by foreign actors if they are revealed to be former IDF military members. There have been countless reports of individuals being attacked simply for wearing IDF clothing. As a result, John Doe publicly stating he served in the IDF and bringing these claims places him in significant danger of being subjected to harassment, threats, and physical violence. Given the heightened violence in both the United States and Israel since the October 7th massacre, Plaintiff has a reasonable fear of retaliatory physical harm to both himself and his family if he is publicly named.
