Washington: Microsoft has fired two software engineers for protesting against the company’s contracts with the Israeli military. The company described their actions as “deliberately disrupting business activities.”
The incident occurred during the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations when Canadian engineer Ibtihal Abu Said protested during a speech by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. During the live event, Ibtihal criticized Microsoft’s ties with the Israeli military, saying, “Mustafa, you should be ashamed. Microsoft is empowering genocide in our region.”
She threw a Palestinian keffiyeh (scarf) onto the stage, after which security removed her. She later sent emails to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and other top officials, condemning the company’s silence on its ties with the Israeli military. Microsoft immediately fired her, claiming she had disrupted a major event to gain attention.
The second engineer, Vanya Agarwal, stationed in the United States, also protested during a separate session where Satya Nadella was present. Although she had already submitted her resignation for April 11, the company immediately accepted it. Vanya also emailed the company’s leadership, calling Microsoft a “creator of digital weapons” and a “partner in racism, surveillance, and genocide.”
This protest came shortly after reports revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI’s technology was being used by the Israeli military in operations in Gaza and Lebanon. While Microsoft has not confirmed these allegations, the company stated that employees have full freedom of expression, as long as it does not disrupt business operations.
Human rights organizations and employee advocacy groups have condemned the actions as retaliation against whistleblowers, calling for the reinstatement of the fired engineers for standing up for human rights.
