Microsoft is investigating employees who participated in the occupation of President Brad Smith’s office to protest against the software giant’s relationship with the Israeli military.
The employees are part of a group called No Azure for Apartheid, an anti-Israel tech worker group that believes Microsoft should end all of its contracts with the Israeli military because of its conduct during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Smith stated during a livestream that the protesters’s behavior was “not standard employee conduct” and Microsoft is investigating their conduct, the Wall Street Journal reported. Smith said the protesters planted listening devices and refused to leave when asked, prompting the police to remove them from the building. Smith made sure to note Microsoft’s support for First Amendment activity, and pointed out the demonstrators’s behavior went beyond what’s considered acceptable conduct.
Microsoft sells software to the Israeli military and No Azure for Apartheid claims it is being used to conduct mass surveillance and target Palestinians. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it is reviewing allegations that Israel’s military surveillance unit used Microsoft software to store a trove of Palestinian communications data. Microsoft previously reviewed the Israeli military’s use of its software and determined that it did not violate its terms of service, which prohibit the deployment of software for mass surveillance.
No Azure for Apartheid broadcasted themselves walking into Microsoft’s Building 34 at its Redmond, Washington campus and hanging posters up inside of Smith’s office. The group celebrated its occupation of Smith’s office on social media and said it was part of a call for a “worker intifada” against Microsoft for what it considers to be complicity in war crimes.
The group recently posted videos of members setting up a tent encampment at Microsoft’s headquarters, emulating the anti-Israel demonstrations that broke out on college campuses nationwide last year. Almost 20 demonstrators were arrested last week for occupying a plaza on Microsoft’s campus, the group said. Anti-Israel protesters frequently demand for the U.S. to stop providing military aid for the Jewish state and for American institutions to cut ties with Israel because of its actions towards civilians in Gaza.
Israel’s war against Hamas began almost two years ago when the terrorist group’s attacks on October 7, 2023 killed over 1,200 civilians and saw the abduction of more than 250 hostages. Hamas continues to hold an estimated 20 hostages as the war in Gaza rages on. At certain points, the war turned into a multi-front effort, with Israel fighting Hezbollah to its north in Lebanon and waging a 12-day war against Iran earlier this year.