Microsoft has terminated two employees who staged high-profile protests during the company’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, raising concerns over the use of its artificial intelligence technology by the Israeli military.
On April 4, 2025, during a keynote presentation by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad interrupted the event to accuse the company of profiting from war. “You claim to care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military,” she shouted, before being escorted out by security. Her protest forced a temporary pause in Suleyman’s speech.
Aboussad, who worked at Microsoft’s Toronto office, was terminated shortly after the incident. In a statement, Microsoft cited “willful misconduct” and “intentional disruption” as grounds for her dismissal, stating the actions were “designed to gain notoriety and cause maximum disruption to this highly anticipated event.”
A second protest occurred at the same event when Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-origin engineer based in Redmond, confronted former Microsoft executives Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. A video circulating online shows Agrawal shouting: “50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you? Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood.”
Although Agrawal had reportedly submitted her resignation prior to the protest, Microsoft confirmed her departure was expedited due to the incident.
Both employees were associated with the activist group No Tech for Apartheid, which has been vocal about Microsoft’s cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. Their actions follow recent reporting from the Associated Press, which revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI technologies were used in Israeli military operations to identify bombing targets in Gaza and Lebanon.
In response to the disruptions, Suleyman calmly stated, “Thank you for your protest, I hear you,” attempting to de-escalate the situation during his presentation.
The protests have sparked widespread debate online about tech ethics, employee activism, and corporate responsibility in global conflicts. Microsoft has not announced any changes to its defense contracts but reaffirmed its commitment to responsible AI development.
