During a significant event celebrating 50 years of Microsoft, employee Ibtihal Aboussad disrupted a speech by AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, urging the tech giant to cease its military contracts with Israel, specifically its collaborations involving AI technology used in conflict areas. Her protest was pointed, accusing Microsoft of contributing to violence in Gaza and demanding the end of practices she described as ‘genocidal’.

“You are a war profiteer,” Aboussad shouted as she was escorted out. “You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands.”

Aboussad’s protest follows a recent surge in the utilization of Microsoft technology by the Israeli military, reportedly increasing significantly post-October 2024. After the incident, another employee, Vaniya Agrawal, staged a similar protest during a talk with several Microsoft CEOs, denouncing the company’s practices in a follow-up email.

In her statements to employees, Aboussad outlined her disillusionment with Microsoft’s treatment of dissenting voices within the workforce regarding these issues, citing a culture of intimidation against those who opposed company policies.

As protests continue both inside and outside the company, Microsoft, on its part, reaffirmed its commitment to facilitating a respectful discourse among employees, even as tensions rise around its military contracts.