Microsoft Fires Employees over Protest Against Ties with Israel

Microsoft has dismissed two employees who staged a sit-in at the office of company president Brad Smith, protesting against the tech giant’s collaboration with Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the terminations followed what the company described as serious violations of corporate policies and its code of conduct, citing the protesters’ entry into executive offices.

The two employees, Anna Hattel and Ricky Fameli, confirmed they received voicemail messages notifying them of their dismissal, according to the protest group No Azure for Apartheid.

Both were among seven people arrested on Tuesday during the sit-in, while the others included former Microsoft staff and outside activists.

In a statement, Hattel accused the company of enabling Israel’s military operations, saying Microsoft continues to supply Israel with the tools needed to commit genocide while misleading its workforce and concealing the truth.

No Azure for Apartheid, named after Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, has demanded that the company sever its contracts with Israel and provide reparations to Palestinians.

Brad Smith stressed that the firm respects freedom of expression, provided it is exercised within the boundaries of the law.

Recent investigations by The Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian magazine +972, and the news platform Local Call revealed that an Israeli military surveillance agency is using Microsoft’s Azure cloud services to store vast amounts of mobile phone call records from Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The reports also detailed Israel’s broader reliance on Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure for extensive surveillance operations.

Microsoft has responded by commissioning the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to carry out an internal review of the matter.

Protests within the company have continued in recent months. In April, an employee interrupted Microsoft’s Head of AI, Mustafa Suleyman, during a company anniversary event, denouncing its cooperation with Israel.

That employee, along with another who joined the protest, was subsequently dismissed.