Why Do We Live Here? The Israeli Military Needs Microsoft to Address the Genocide of the Palestine and Israel’s Armed Forces

I joined Microsoft around the same time as I began to observe the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians by Israel. I’ve seen unspeakable suffering amidst Israel’s mass human rights violations – indiscriminate carpet bombings, the targeting of hospitals and schools, and the continuation of an apartheid state – all of which have been condemned globally by the UN, ICC, and ICJ, and numerous human rights organizations. And as I write this, Israel has broken the ceasefire and resumed its full-scale genocide in Gaza. It was recently revealed that Israel killed fifteen paramedics and rescue workers in Gaza before burying them in the sand as another horrendous war crime. Meanwhile, our labor powers this genocide, and I cannot, in good conscience, be part of a company that participates in this violent injustice.

Ibtihal is a software engineer for Microsoft and he has worked for 3.5 years. I spoke up today because after learning that my org was helping to kill people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice. Microsoft tried to suppress any protests from my coworkers who tried to raise the issue. For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft. The firing of two employees for simply holding a vigil was the result of attempts to speak up. There was no other way for our voices to be heard.

The Israeli military uses Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Azure, to sift through the massive amount of data gathered through mass surveillement, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems. That data can then be cross-checked with Israel’s in-house targeting systems.”

In fact, Microsoft is so deeply connected to the Israeli military that it was just yesterday designated one of the priority boycott targets of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) campaign.

Regardless of your political stance, is this what we want to leave behind? Is it something you can tell your children about? Do we want to be wrong about history?

Your work can benefit the company, even if it’s unrelated to the cloud that the military uses. Regardless of your team, you serve a company that is providing support to the Israeli occupation. Even if it’s only a small amount of your compensation, the fact is that it is being paid by genocide.

This is the reason I signed the petition, and why I decided to speak up today. I encourage you all to do the same.

Sign the No Azure for Apartheid petition: We will not write code that kills. A number of Microsoft employees are worried about the situation and they want you to add your voice.

Join me in showing our discontent in this thread. If you are tricked into weapons that target children and civilians, ask leadership to drop these contracts.

Know that Microsoft’s human rights statement prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a human rights-related concern:

Human rights statement | Microsoft CSR

As you might have just seen on the livestream or witnessed in person, I disrupted the speech of Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during the highly-anticipated 50th anniversary celebration. Here’s why.

Like most, I joined Microsoft believing in its mission to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” I believed in the commitment to respect and promote human rights. I believed that Microsoft was dedicated to philanthropy and promoting fundamental rights around the world.

I am aware that leaving Microsoft is not an option for a lot of people. I would urge you to use your power, position and privilege at Microsoft to hold the company accountable to its own values.