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A Microsoft employee who has since resigned fiercely criticized the company’s leadership, including CEO Satya Nadella and former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, over Microsoft’s support of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-American software engineer, launched a passionate protest during the tech giant’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Agrawal confronted the Microsoft executives, saying, “Fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood.” She accused the company of being a “digital weapons manufacturer” and enabling violence through its technology. She urged the company to sever its ties with Israel before being escorted out of the hall by security.
The executives did not engage with Agrawal’s protest and continued their panel discussion after she was removed.
In her resignation, Agrawal condemned Microsoft for allegedly entering into a $133 million deal with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, providing AI and Azure technologies for military operations in Gaza. She called on her colleagues to protest the company’s involvement in human rights violations, and emphasized that she could no longer be part of a company that contributed to what she called “violent injustice.”
“If you must continue to work at Microsoft, I urge you to use your position, power, and privilege to hold Microsoft accountable to its own values and mission,” Agrawal wrote in her resignation letter.
This was not the first protest from a Microsoft employee. Earlier, Ibtihal Aboussad, another employee who resigned, disrupted a presentation by AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, accusing him of being a “war profiteer.” Aboussad claimed, “Microsoft technologies are being used to commit acts of genocide.” Suleyman responded, “Thank you for your protest. I hear you.”
Microsoft employees have been vocal about the company’s ties with Israel in the past, especially after the collapse of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which reignited violence in Gaza. In February, five Microsoft employees were removed from a meeting with Nadella after protesting the company’s contracts with Israel’s military.
The protests highlight growing tension within Microsoft over its involvement in the ongoing conflict, with employees calling on the company to reassess its role in military applications.
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