> Color me naive, but shouldn’t what happens in the office be about the office???

Yes I don't understand any of this either.

Maybe I'm just an old dog who's been in software engineering for 20+ years, but when I get hired by a company they exchange one thing (money) for what I can offer (programming).

If I am uncomfortable with what they are asking me to do regarding my skill of programming, I can quit at any time and go somewhere else.

I can't for the life of me understand how employees are debating things like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict during their time at work, on public channels.

There is plenty of time outside of work to do whatever you want.