Cadence engineer fired for activism
FIRM'S LETTER CITES WORK IN BETHLEHEM
By Elise Ackerman and Lisa Fernandez Mercury News
James Hanna never imagined his Middle East vacation would cost him his job.
Disturbed by televised images of Israeli military forces invading Palestinian cities and towns, the 24-year-old computer engineer hired as a contract employee took a 10-day leave from his job at the Munich office of Cadence Design Systems in late April to do humanitarian work with the International Solidarity Movement, a group of pro-Palestinian activists who believe in non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
``For me, it was the injustice, the fact that nobody really seemed to care,'' said Hanna, who is a U.S. citizen.
Hanna was detained by the Israeli army May 2 after he participated in an attempt to deliver food to armed gunmen and others hiding in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Israel, which viewed many of the Palestinians in the church as suspected terrorists, deported Hanna on May 4.
When Hanna returned to work the following week, he was fired. ``Due to unacceptable conduct and political actions in a geographical area where Cadence does business (Israel), we hereby terminate your work contract,'' his dismissal letter stated.
A spokesman for the San Jose company, which is a leading provider of software used to design chips and electronic devices, confirmed that Hanna's employment contract had been terminated but declined to elaborate. ``There was an appropriate and justifiable reason,'' said spokesman Kevin Kimball.
Amir Segez-Sayag, a spokesman for the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, said the solidarity group's attempt to storm the church by rushing past Israeli soldiers was not a benign act of peaceful protesters. ``This is not any kind of humanitarian group that breaks into a church and makes provocation,'' he said.
Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California Department of Industrial Relations, said firing an employee for political activity is illegal in California. However, the state law generally does not apply to contractors like Hanna or to employees of foreign subsidiaries.
Students dropped
Hanna isn't the only person with California connections to face negative consequences for involvement in the Bethlehem incident. Two students who joined Hanna in the action at the church were punished by their universities.
Robert O'Neill, a 21-year-old student at the University of California-Berkeley, and Nauman Zaidi, a 26-year-old from UC-Riverside, were dropped from their overseas program at the American University in Cairo for violating an agreement they signed with the university that prohibited them from traveling to dangerous places and war zones, university officials said.
O'Neill and Zaidi returned to the United States on Monday after spending more than two weeks in Israeli custody attempting to fight deportation orders.
``In the Middle East, students are not allowed to go to the West Bank and Gaza, where they put themselves and others in danger,'' said UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman.
Eisenman said the rule is consistent throughout the system's overseas program. ``In India, there are hot spots in Kashmir that are just `no go' zones.''
Alan Schlosser, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, said that if Cadence fired Hanna for his political activities, it raises serious civil liberties questions.
``Free speech and political activities would be seriously hampered if a private employer were able to retaliate for political actions,'' Schlosser said.
Sharing details
Hanna said he is still at a loss to explain what happened to him. ``I went to Israel on my personal time and did not affiliate myself with my company while I was there. I didn't associate with any militant or radical groups, and I conducted what I thought were thoroughly humanitarian acts,'' he said.
Hanna said he was happy to talk to his manager about his experience in Israel and voluntarily informed him of the details of the trip, including his work at a school and the two days he spent in a refugee camp outside of Bethlehem.
``I stressed the non-violent and humanitarian aspect of what I had done,'' Hanna said.
But according to Hanna, his boss told him that higher-ups in San Jose were concerned about his connections to Palestinian militants. ``He said they were worried I might do this kind of thing in the future,'' Hanna recalled.
Hanna said he would never align with militants, in part because his family, many of whom live in Egypt, have been persecuted by Muslims there for holding fast to their Christian beliefs.
``I want people to be aware of what happened to me, so they can understand what corporate America is thinking and doing in regards to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,'' he said. ``People who speak out or act on behalf of the Palestinian people are being punished, both in the corporate and academic spheres.''
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/3355138.htm> -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>