'No wonder Hitler wanted rid of them': Citibank fires employee over anti-Israel post

Nozima Husainova, a personal banker at Citigroup, found herself dismissed from the job over a contentious social media post which disputed the morality of the State of Israel and appeared to endorse Adolf Hitler's actions of mass murder of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

“No wonder why Hitler wanted to get rid of all of them,” Nozima Husainova wrote in an Instagram story along with a smiley face emoji. However, the 25-year-old quickly deleted the story along with Instagram and other social media accounts.

“No wonder why Hitler wanted to get rid of all of them”. - Nozima Husainova

Unbridled antisemitism. pic.twitter.com/GFdEMMdrI6 — StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 18, 2023

Non-profit watchdog StopAntisemitism shared a screenshot of the post in X (formerly Twitter) and said, "Is this vile antisemite to your employee @Citi?”.

We are investigating this matter and taking appropriate disciplinary action. We strongly condemn antisemitism and other hate speech. — Citi (@Citi) October 19, 2023

Update: We terminated the employment of the person who posted the revolting antisemitic comment on social media. We condemn antisemitism and all hate speech and do not tolerate it in our bank. — Citi (@Citi) October 19, 2023

After looking at the comment, the company said that they unequivocally condemn all forms of hate speech and anti-semitic sentiment, and have zero tolerance for any employee who fails to respect these policies. "We strongly condemn antisemitism and other hate speech,” they wrote.

Citigroup later wrote an update by saying that they had fired her and condemned antisemitism.

UPDATE: Nozima Husainova has been fired from Citi.

A spokesman for Citi said Husainova's comments were 'revolting' and said hate speech would not be tolerated in their bank.

Thank you @Citi for saying NO! to antisemitism. https://t.co/yTzBNXhIEu — StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 19, 2023

"We terminated the employment of the person who posted the revolting antisemitic comment on social media. We condemn antisemitism and all hate speech and do not tolerate it in our bank,” the company wrote on X.

We must appreciate Citi for swift action. — Guru Amar 'Balak' (@Amar_Guru1) October 19, 2023

Husainova made the inflammatory remark in response to a post on the Gaza hospital bombing, which was initially blamed on Israel but was later discovered to be the work of the Islamic Jihad terror group after one of its operatives misfired a rocket.

As per her now-deleted LinkedIn profile, Husainova graduated with a degree in finance in June 2021 and soon after secured a role at Citi aiming to build customer relations and increase sales to individual consumer clients.

According to Glassdoor, a regular Citi employee in Husainova's designation earns approximately $75,000 annually. Despite only serving two years in her entry-level role, Husainova was let go from the Wall Street firm, the reasons for which still remain undisclosed. Based on information provided by the bank, her primary responsibilities included fostering customer relationships, building loyalty, and improving sales to individual consumers.

Husainova's endorsement of the Holocaust invited fierce criticism on social media, with users labeling it as "vile" and an instance of "unbridled antisemitism." Following news of her firing, StopAntisemitism posted to X: “Thank you Citi for saying NO! to antisemitism,” while other users expressed gratitude that the bank “did the right thing.”

“Well done. We must appreciate Citi for swift action,” a person wrote on X. “Great news. Good to see that companies are reacting to appalling comments like this swiftly,” another person said. “She went to Brooklyn College, a college attended by many Jewish students and with a large Jewish faculty. We had some very good debates there because the student body is so diverse. Apparently, none got through to her,” a user commented. “What was she thinking? Total disgrace,” another user commented.

She went to Brooklyn College, a college attended by many Jewish students and with a large Jewish faculty. We had some very good debates there because the student body is so diverse. Apparently none got through to her. — Jack (@TheSocialJack) October 20, 2023

Oh man, did you all see this? Horrific, and career-ending move.@dissectmarkets @cascadierra — 👁️ Eye of Knowledge 👁️ (@eyeofbass) October 19, 2023

Thank you Citi for doing the right thing — stockchicNYC (@masnjny) October 19, 2023

The termination of Husainova, came shortly after several prominent corporate leaders threatened to refuse employment opportunities to Harvard students involved in a controversial letter blaming Israel for triggering violent actions by Hamas.

The contentious letter, leaked to The New York Post, was an anti-Israeli statement from the students asserting that Hamas' violent behavior was catalyzed by Israel's treatment of Palestinians which they likened to an "open-air prison" persisting for over two decades.

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