Microsoft workers and activists protest against company’s Israel ties, occupy part of campus

Microsoft employees, ex-employees, activists, and local supporters took over the software giant’s east campus in Redmond, Washington on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) to protest against Microsoft’s ties with Israel and raise awareness about the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel’s army.

The protest was coordinated by the No Azure for Apartheid organisation that runs campaigns against Microsoft’s business partnerships with the Israeli administration.

The protesters, who took over Microsoft’s East Campus Plaza, created what they called a “Liberated Zone” and renamed it as The Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza. Others displayed symbolic shrouds and art pieces that commemorated Palestinians of all ages who had been killed by Israel’s military, such as journalists Shireen Abu Akleh and Anas Al-Sharif, as well as children including five-year-old Hind Rajab. Some held up banners that directly blamed Microsoft for the violence and civilian deaths in Palestine.

In a statement posted on its website, No Azure for Apartheid urged Microsoft to cut ties with Israel, call for an end to the genocide and forced starvation, pay reparations to Palestinians, and end discrimination against workers who supported Palestine.

Members taking part in the protest interacted with Microsoft employees who were on their lunch break and walking through the plaza, per the group.

Microsoft has been previously accused of enabling Israel’s wartime violence in Gaza through its contracts with the country. However, Microsoft on May 15 published a post stating that it “found no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.”

However, on August 15, the company added that it was investigating allegations reported by The Guardian newspaper on August 6 related to Microsoft Azure being used by a unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

“The Guardian, on that date, reported that multiple individuals have asserted that the IDF is using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage,” said Microsoft in an update to its earlier statement and confirmed it would conduct a review.

No Azure for Apartheid claimed that Microsoft’s investigation was a “sham” and called on the company to take immediate action against Israel.

“For 34 years, Microsoft embedded itself in the economy of apartheid and genocide through its Israeli development centers, its acquisitions of Israeli cybersecurity and surveillance start-ups, and its never-ending contracts and deep partnerships with the Israeli military, the Israeli prison service, the Israeli government, and Israeli weapons manufacturers,” claimed No Azure for Apartheid in a statement, adding that Microsoft’s technology also powered Israel’s mass-surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

“This deep relationship established Microsoft as the technological backbone to the Israeli genocidal machine through the sale of Cloud and AI digital weapons to the Israeli military,” alleged the organisation.

The protesters were later instructed by the police to leave the area.