Microsoft fires workers over protest against ties to 'Israel'
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Microsoft faces backlash after firing employees who protested its support for the ongoing Israeli genocide in occupied Palestine through its cloud services.
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Protesters showed up outside the houses of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith, yelling loudly on August 26: "Satya A!" and "Brad!" You can't hide! We charge you with genocide! (@NoAz4Apartheid/X)
Two Microsoft employees have been dismissed following their participation in a sit-in at the office of the company’s president, protesting its business ties with "Israel".
A company spokesperson claimed that the terminations were due to “serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct,” following what was described as “the break-in at the executive offices.”
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING🚨🚨🚨
— No Azure for Apartheid (@NoAz4Apartheid) August 28, 2025
Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle have been fired after participating in the sit-in at the office of @BradSmi, Microsoft president, to demand the company cut ties with Israel!
Full campaign statement and press conference details coming soon. pic.twitter.com/HDnYs8oHRO
According to a statement from the activist group No Azure for Apartheid, Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli learned of their dismissal through voicemails from the company.
The Israeli military is using Amazon Web Services (AWS), #Microsoft Azure, and #Google Cloud for "military purposes" in Gaza, with #AWS providing “endless storage” for surveillance and targeting in the ongoing genocide.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 7, 2024
Since October, their expanded use of these tech giants'… pic.twitter.com/XXJ9Ig95K3
Azure, Microsoft’s flagship cloud computing platform, came under scrutiny after a report in The Guardian revealing that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used it to store phone call data gathered through mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Microsoft alleged it is reviewing the report.
Arrests during a sit-in protest
The two dismissed employees were among seven individuals arrested on Tuesday at the company’s headquarters after they staged a sit-in demonstration in the company president’s office to urge Microsoft to cut its ties with the Israeli government.
“We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality,” Hattle said in a statement.
The activist group has repeatedly called on Microsoft to sever all ties with "Israel" and provide reparations to Palestinians. Responding to the protest, Smith claimed on Tuesday, “We respect the freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys as long as they do it lawfully.”
This is not the first demonstration by Microsoft workers over the company’s involvement with "Israel". Last week, 18 individuals were arrested during a similar protest at the company’s headquarters plaza.
Earlier this year, in May, one employee was dismissed for interrupting CEO Satya Nadella’s speech, while two others were fired in April for disrupting the company’s 50th-anniversary celebration.
Microsoft provides 'Israel' with digital arms
The latest protests were sparked by an investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call revealing that "Israel's" Unit 8200 uses Microsoft's Azure to store vast numbers of recorded Palestinian phone calls. Microsoft claimed it had not been aware of "the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft’s services."
Although the company said it was launching an independent investigation into the use of its Azure software, activists wanted to escalate their actions due to what they viewed as inadequate action from the company.
“You continue to try to bury your head in the sand, so we are here today outside your blood-soaked thrones, to continue pulling your baby-killer necks out of your sand holes and continue to force you to confront your complicity, until you stop powering the murdering our people,” Ibitihal Aboussad, one of the demonstrators on Tuesday, stated.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been taking extraordinary measures to quell the demonstrations that have been ongoing for months. According to a report from Bloomberg, the company has not only requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track protests but also worked with local authorities to stop them.
