Pro-Palestinian Microsoft employees disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations, publicly condemning its contracts with the Israeli military.
A pro-Palestinian protest disrupted Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration on Friday, highlighting growing backlash over the tech industry’s involvement in Israel’s ongoing genocide.
The interruption occurred during a speech by Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s CEO of Artificial Intelligence and a British citizen of Syrian origin. As Suleyman addressed the audience, Microsoft employee Ebtihal Abu al-Saad, a Moroccan national, stood up and shouted, “Shame on you!”
“You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military,” Abu al-Saad continued, adding:
“Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region”.
Abu al-Saad’s protest led Suleyman to pause his speech.
Abu al-Saad then threw a Palestinian keffiyeh—a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people—onto the stage and accused Suleyman and the company of having “blood on their hands” before being escorted out of the venue.
Suleyman responded briefly, saying, “Thank you for your protest. I heard you.”
A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event to call out its role in fueling genocide.
“You have blood on your hands,” Ibtehal AbuSaad told Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “Stop using AI for genocide.” pic.twitter.com/kVbvcaXamG
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) April 5, 2025
Later in the event, a second Microsoft employee, Vania Agrawal, also disrupted the program during a rare joint appearance by Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and current CEO Satya Nadella—the first time all three Microsoft CEOs had appeared together publicly since 2014.
The public protest follows earlier internal dissent. In February, five employees were removed from a private meeting with Nadella after objecting to the company’s contracts with the Israeli government.
These protests come amid renewed scrutiny of Microsoft’s role in supplying technology to Israel. A recent Associated Press investigation revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI tools were used in Israeli military programs that helped identify targets during airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon.
One example cited in the report involved a 2023 airstrike that mistakenly killed three young girls and their grandmother in Lebanon.
While Microsoft has emphasized that it provides “multiple avenues for all voices to be heard,” the company added in a statement that disruptions to business operations are not tolerated.
It has not yet confirmed whether disciplinary actions have been taken against Abu al-Saad or Agrawal. However, both employees told the Associated Press that they lost access to their work accounts following the protest, possibly indicating that their employment had been terminated.
(PC, AJA)
“… Microsoft has emphasized that it provides “multiple avenues for all voices to be heard,” the company added in a statement that disruptions to business operations are not tolerated.”
(Translation):
“If you oppose fueling genocide, you can vent about it all you want,” Microsoft adressed its employees in a statement. “But in the end, we, a bunch of greedy scumbags, only cares about money even if it is soaked in the blood of the innocents. Oh, and you are fired too”
Unbelievable atrocities on the innocent children, women, and elderly. What a shame and height of cowardice to bomb these unarmed People. What a scar on humanity who is not able to stop it. They are worst of animals. Even animals don’t do that ?