The 50th anniversary party of the technology giant Microsoft was overshadowed by protests against Israel. Employees demonstrated against the company’s agreements with Israel.

At the 50th anniversary party, some Microsoft employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the services provided to Israel. The speech by Mustafa Suleiman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, at the company’s 50th anniversary party was interrupted by employees protesting Microsoft’s agreements with Israel. Ibtihal Aboussad, who approached the stage from the audience where Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer were present, addressed Suleiman, “You claim to care about using artificial intelligence for good, yet Microsoft is selling AI weapons to the Israel military. 50,000 people have died, and Microsoft supports this genocide in our region,” she said. Suleiman thanked Aboussad for her objection and said, “I hear you, and you should be ashamed of yourself.” After throwing her keffiyeh on stage, Aboussad was escorted out by security.

“YOU ARE ALL HYPOCRITES”

Software engineer Vaniya Agrawal from the company’s AI division shouted, “Shame on all of you, you are all hypocrites,” at another event where Gates, Ballmer, and CEO Satya Nadella were on stage. Agrawal stated that 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza were killed using Microsoft technology and continued, “Shame on all of you for celebrating over their blood. Cut your ties with Israel,” before being removed. According to CNBC, Agrawal sent an email to Microsoft executives after the protest, stating that she would resign, saying, “We are all becoming accomplices by working for this company.”

Aboussad noted that she was not informed that her work would be used for military purposes. Emphasizing that she did not sign up to write code that violates human rights, she stated, “I was not informed that Microsoft would sell my work to the Israeli military and government.” Meanwhile, some employees protested Microsoft outside the venue of the events. In a statement released by the company, it was defended that various means were provided to ensure all voices were heard. The statement expressed a desire for voices to be heard without causing work interruptions, stating, “In such a case, we ask participants to change their locations. We are committed to ensuring that our business practices adhere to the highest standards.”Research by the Associated Press in early 2025 revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models were being used as part of the Israeli military program to select bombing targets in Gaza and Lebanon.