Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration on Friday was briefly disrupted when an employee publicly protested the company’s ties to Israel, interrupting AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during his speech in Redmond, Washington.
“You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide,” shouted Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, as Suleyman discussed the company’s AI assistant products. Suleyman responded calmly, saying, “I hear your protest, thank you,” before Aboussad was escorted out of the event.
The interruption follows mounting criticism of tech companies linked to military applications in global conflicts. Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation revealed that AI models developed by Microsoft and OpenAI were used by the Israeli military in operations targeting Gaza and Lebanon.
The incident comes amid widespread protests in academic and corporate institutions over partnerships with Israel, as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens. The current phase of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in October 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. In response, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and has displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, sparking accusations of genocide that Israel has denied.
Following the protest, Aboussad reportedly sent an email to Microsoft colleagues defending her actions, writing, “For every Goliath, there is a David.” The Verge reported that both she and another protester lost access to their work accounts shortly after the incident.
In a statement, Microsoft said it values open dialogue but expects employees to voice concerns “in a way that does not disrupt business operations.”
