Microsoft AI Executive Interrupted by Employees Protest Over Ties to Israeli Genocide

Washington (Quds News Network)- Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event was disrupted on Friday by employees protesting the company’s ties to Israel’s military, which has been carrying genocide in Gaza fir over a year and half. The protest targeted AI Chief Mustafa Suleyman, who was delivering a keynote presentation about the future of Microsoft’s AI tools.

🚨A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event to protest its use of AI.
“Shame on you,” said Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, speaking directly to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI… pic.twitter.com/PdIqa6TSHo

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) April 4, 2025

Ibtihal Aboussad, a Moroccan Microsoft employee, stood up during Suleyman’s speech and shouted, “Shame on you, Mustafa.” She mentioned Microsoft’s support of the Israeli military with AI weapons. “Fifty thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region,” she said.

Suleyman paused and responded, “Thank you for your protest, I hear you.” Aboussad continued, saying Microsoft had “blood on its hands,” then put a Palestinian keffiyeh on stage before security escorted her out.

Another Microsoft employee, Vaniya Agrawal, disrupted a separate part of the event as former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer joined current CEO Satya Nadella on stage. It was the first time the three leaders had appeared together publicly since 2014.

An Associated Press investigation had previously revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI models were used by the Israeli military to help select bombing targets in Gaza and Lebanon. The report also detailed a 2023 Israeli airstrike that killed three young Lebanese girls and their grandmother.

Multiple reports have confirmed that Israel has deployed AI models such as Lavender, Gospel, and Where’s Daddy? to conduct mass surveillance, identify targets, and direct strikes against tens of thousands of individuals in Gaza – often in their own homes – all with minimal human oversight.

Rights groups and experts say these systems have played a critical role in Israel’s incessant and apparently indiscriminate attacks, which have laid to waste massive swaths of the besieged enclave and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

In February, five Microsoft employees were removed from an internal meeting with Nadella after raising similar concerns. But Friday’s protest was public and live-streamed, drawing far more attention. Other employees gathered outside the event in solidarity.

Microsoft responded with a statement saying it provides “many avenues for all voices to be heard,” but stressed that disruptions to business operations are not allowed. The company asked protestors to relocate when disruptions occur.

Microsoft did not confirm whether it would take action against the employees, who called out the company’s support for Israel’s genocide. However, Aboussad told the AP that both she and Agrawal lost access to their work accounts immediately after the protest and could not log back in — a sign they may have been fired.

The protest adds to growing pressure on tech companies to cut ties with military programs involved in the Gaza genocide.