Israel’s genocide is being powered by Microsoft. From creating a massive digital dragnet, aiding in the production of A.I.-generated kill lists, hiring hundreds of Israeli spies to run its internal affairs, and suppressing figures opposing the slaughter, the Seattle-based tech corporation has played a key role in the violence.
by Alan Macleod
Part 5 - Cracking Down on Internal Resistance
A greater threat than Iran to Microsoft, however, is its own employees, hundreds of whom have organized to oppose its role in the genocide. Under the banner of No Azure for Apartheid, workers demand that: Microsoft terminates all Azure contracts with Israel; disclose all ties to the Israeli national security state; publicly call for a ceasefire, and stop persecuting employees who speak out about the genocide.
This fourth demand is particularly salient, as the corporation has shown little to no tolerance for dissent. In October 2024, it fired two workers for organizing a vigil for Palestinian refugees at its corporate headquarters near Seattle.
Months later, it sacked a worker who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address at the company’s annual developer conference. Joe Lopez, a firmware engineer who worked on Azure, shouted down Nadella, yelling, “Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians. How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure? As a Microsoft worker, I refuse to be complicit in this genocide!” Video of the incident went viral, causing a public relations nightmare for the company.
This fourth demand is particularly salient, as the corporation has shown little to no tolerance for dissent. In October 2024, it fired two workers for organizing a vigil for Palestinian refugees at its corporate headquarters near Seattle.
Months later, it sacked a worker who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address at the company’s annual developer conference. Joe Lopez, a firmware engineer who worked on Azure, shouted down Nadella, yelling, “Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians. How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure? As a Microsoft worker, I refuse to be complicit in this genocide!” Video of the incident went viral, causing a public relations nightmare for the company.
By this time, Microsoft realized that it had a serious employee revolt on its hands. Just days after the Lopez incident, the firm quietly implemented a policy blocking employee emails containing keywords such as “Palestine,” “Gaza,” or “genocide,” on its internal exchange servers. The policy did little to dampen organizing efforts, and caused another round of embarrassing headlines, once it was leaked to the press.
Amid building pressure, in September, Microsoft announced that it had withdrawn some of its services to the Israeli military, a decision which implies reports of its complicity in the violence were indeed accurate.
“It is pretty clear that what Microsoft says about their policies, their human rights records and more is bullshit. So they are only going to respond to external embarrassment, and the No Azure for Apartheid people have really demonstrated how effective that can be,” Biggar told MintPress.
Amid building pressure, in September, Microsoft announced that it had withdrawn some of its services to the Israeli military, a decision which implies reports of its complicity in the violence were indeed accurate.
“It is pretty clear that what Microsoft says about their policies, their human rights records and more is bullshit. So they are only going to respond to external embarrassment, and the No Azure for Apartheid people have really demonstrated how effective that can be,” Biggar told MintPress.
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