WASHINGTON, Aug 28 — Two Microsoft employees were fired yesterday after taking part in a sit-in at the office of the company’s president to protest the firm’s ties to Israel amid the war in Gaza.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the workers were terminated following “serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct” stemming from “the break-in at the executive offices.”
Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails informing them that they were fired, the protest group No Azure for Apartheid said in a statement.
They were among seven protesters arrested on Tuesday after occupying the office of company president Brad Smith. The other five were former Microsoft workers and people outside the company.
“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 yesterday.
No Azure for Apartheid, whose name references Microsoft’s Azure software, has demanded that the company cut its ties to Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. Smith said on Tuesday: “We respect the freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys as long as they do it lawfully.”
A joint media investigation by the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call reported that an Israeli military surveillance agency was using Microsoft’s Azure software to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The investigation also said Israel relied on Microsoft’s cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians.
In response, Microsoft said earlier this month it had engaged law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review.
Other Microsoft workers have also protested the company’s ties to Israel. In April, Microsoft AI chief executive Mustafa Suleyman’s remarks were interrupted by a pro-Palestinian employee during the firm’s 50th anniversary celebration. That employee and another protester were also fired.
Other firms and universities have also faced protests over links to Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened, with images of starving Palestinians, including children, fuelling global outrage.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, caused a hunger crisis, displaced the enclave’s entire population and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes at international courts — charges Israel denies. — Reuters
