A group of Microsoft employees and activists staged a protest at the company’s headquarters, demanding that the tech giant cut its ties with the Israeli military.
The group occupied the East Campus Plaza in Redmond, renaming it “The Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza” and establishing an encampment to highlight what they call the company’s complicity in war crimes in Gaza, The Guardian reported.
The action was organised by No Tech for Apartheid, a coalition of workers and advocacy groups, under the slogan “No Azure for Apartheid” — a reference to Microsoft’s cloud computing services.
Protesters set up tents, banners, and a negotiation table, inviting company executives to engage in dialogue.
In an open letter and accompanying manifesto titled “We will not be cogs in the Israeli genocidal machine: a call for a Worker Intifada,” organisers urged employees to protest, walk out, and strike until Microsoft ends all contracts with the Israeli government and military.
This marks the most visible escalation in a wave of internal dissent that has been growing since early 2024.
Previous actions have included disruptions at Microsoft events, including speeches by CEO Satya Nadella and AI chief Mustafa Suleyman.
Earlier this month, The Guardian and Israel’s +972 Magazine revealed Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, was making use of Azure to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.
Employees have also criticised Microsoft’s decision to limit internal use of terms such as “Gaza,” “genocide,” and “apartheid.”
In response, Microsoft said it has not found evidence that its Azure cloud services or AI tools have been used in operations harming civilians.
The company has not commented publicly on the Redmond protest.
The protest comes as over 60 Microsoft shareholders — representing around $80 million in holdings — have submitted a resolution demanding a human rights audit of Microsoft’s contracts with Israeli entities.
The proposal is expected to be voted on at the company’s annual general meeting in December.
Protesters say they will continue occupying the plaza until their demands are met or they are forcibly removed.
