Chapter and verse on the Courtney Carey case: Irish woman posts defiant message and indicates she has a 'strong case' after losing job at global tech firm Wix following comments about Israel

Courtney Carey had worked in a variety of tech-based jobs in the Republic of Ireland’s capital over the last decade, including at Sky, eBay, and most recently with Wix for the last four years and seven months.

Her LinkedIn profile described her as a “customer care team lead” – but says her employment there has now ceased.

Wix is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The firm currently encourages support for Ukrainians in the face of Russia’s invasion / annexation; its website says: “Let’s support the people of Ukraine, together. We, at Wix, condemn the war in Ukraine.”

Ms Carey has told the News Letter she was dismissed for alleged “gross misconduct”.

But she also said that people “have not heard the last of her” and told the News Letter a number of lawyers have been in touch advising her on taking a case.

• – WHERE DID ALL THIS START? –

In the wake of the recent upsurge in carnage in Israel-Palestine, Ms Carey began posting messages on LinkedIn, and re-posting the messages of others.

This began with re-posts of messages from people in Egypt, Israel, and Bosnia about the violence.

The first said: “Free Palestine, Little way to resist, Speak about Palestine.”

The second said: “My friend Eyal Waldman lost his daughter and her life partner in an inhuman massacre last Saturday [October 7]. They were dancing for peace moments before. Yesterday, they were buried together into silence forever. Eyal asked me to post this. I think it’s an understatement” – followed by a picture of Netanyahu with a bloody hand on his face.

The third said: “Since 2000, for every Israeli child killed, 15.8 Palestinian children die from Israeli aggression, according to countthekids.org."

Then Ms Carey began reposting messages from Irish figures, including one from Patrick Keilty in which the NI comedian said: “So many of us here at the Late Late show want to send our love to the family of Kim Danti, and all the families whose lives have been ripped apart in Israel and Palestine…

"As someone who grew up during a conflict where the rights and wrongs of politics were always writ large, one common truth was that the hurt and the pain on both sides was sadly the same."

She reposted several more messages from others, criticising both Israel and Hamas, then added one herself, alongside footage from a Dublin “free Palestine” demo.

Her own message read: “SAOIRSE DON PHALAISTÍN.

"Today I am proud to be Irish, to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against the Israeli apartheid amongst over 25 thousand protestors.

"Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem all conclude Israel is guilty of the crime of apartheid due to its racist policies against the Palestinian people.

"The Israeli state has cut off food, water and electricity to over 2 million people trapped in the Gaza Strip. Indiscriminate bombing from the IDF has killed almost 3000 people one third of whom are children.

“Civilian infrastructure has been devastated; Israeli forces have targeted homes, offices, hospitals, schools and universities, as well as medics and journalists.

"The UN has reported that at least 12 medical workers have been killed and 24 medical facilities impacted, the Gaza Strip’s health system is on the brink of collapse.

"The root cause of this violence is a Zionist ideology which promotes an exclusivist state which denies Palestinian identity it is also an expansionary ideology, promoting illegal settlements on Palestinian land.

"Do not be fooled by establishment propaganda. You can oppose Zionism as a political ideology while standing firm against anti-Semitism which is also a form of racism.”

She went on to add an addendum to the message, saying: “I would like to make it abundantly clear that although some may interpret my support for Palestinians as an act of support for Hamas. This is absolutely not the case.

"I condemn all forms of terrorism regardless of the perpetrator or victim. My criticism lies only on governing bodies who are putting their population at risk and not of the individuals who are victimised by their governments actions, no life is worth more than another.

"The comments are turned off in order to reduce the amount of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia that often appears in such posts.”

• Former Queen's University governor questions why Israel is target of major academic boycott whilst dictatorial regimes and wars elsewhere evoke less response

• Over 50 academics and teachers in Northern Ireland now signed up to boycott of Israel including 14 at Queen's University Belfast

• – DAIL DISCUSSION AND DEFIANT MESSAGE –

A number of figures criticised her on Twitter, including Dr Eli David, a lecturer with a vast Twitter following of some 407,000-plus.

He said: “Fun fact: Wix is an Israeli company. Enjoy unemployment Courtney”, alongside a face laughing hysterically.

Then on Sunday he wrote: “Happy to update that Courtney has been fired.”

The case was raised in the Dail (Irish parliament) on Tuesday, with People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett – a staunch critic of Israel – saying that Ms Carey had claimed Wix management regarded her posts as “tantamount to justifying terrorism”.

• Pro-Palestine protestors in Northern Ireland target Home Bargains with protest against Israeli killings in Gaza

• Palestine protestors march through west Belfast Sainsbury's supermarket – man points to Israeli items on shelves and shouts that shop is 'funding genocide'

Party comrade Mick Barry added: “I am calling on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to speak out on this case. It could have a chilling effect on thousands of workers in this country who wish to speak out against a brutal war.

"It also creates a terrible precedent whereby workers can be fired for expressing a political point of view.”

And taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “Some of the Deputies raised the case of a former employee of Wix. I am not aware of the case. I do not know the details or the facts…

"Under Irish employment law, it is not okay to dismiss somebody because of their political views.

"I believe that to be wrong and would encourage the woman concerned to seek advice, whether from the WRC, a trade union or a solicitor, because it may well constitute wrongful dismissal and there are remedies that would then apply.”

Ms Carey herself posted online a message in the wake of the affair, saying: “Thank you for the immense amount of support I’ve received I’ve been inundated with messages, from strangers, past colleagues and now new friends.

"I’ve decided to take some time away from social media to myself. I will respond as soon as I can to everyone. These last few days have been tough but still in comparison a small price to pay.

"You haven’t heard the last of me!”

Asked if she intends to take action, she told the News Letter: “Yes I’ve been contacted by many lawyers offering their advice to go for unfair dismissal as I have a strong case.”

The News Letter has contacted Wix and is awaiting a response.