• During Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, programmer Ibtihal Abou El Saad publicly denounced the company for supporting the Israeli occupation.
• Despite facing severe personal risks—including potential termination or deportation—Abou El Saad refused to stay silent.
Moroccan Muslim programmer Ibtihal Aboussad has became a symbol of courage and integrity. Activists and influencers on X have been hailed her as “the voice of conscience in a time of surrender.” Aboussad is captured in a viral video in which she publicly denounced Microsoft.
During a presentation on Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot, held on Friday at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the Harvard graduate disrupted Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s address, accusing the tech giant of complicity in military operations that have resulted in the massacre of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Unfazed by the potential risk to her coveted career—a dream job for millions—Aboussad boldly confronted Mustafa Suleyman, the Syrian-born executive. She accused him of collaborating with Israeli war crimes and of concealing his overt support for the Israeli military.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” Aboussad said while approaching the stage.
“You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”
The protest followed a February investigation by the Associated Press, which revealed that:
Artificial intelligence models developed by Microsoft and OpenAI were being utilised by the Israeli military to assist in selecting bombing targets in Gaza and Lebanon.
The report highlighted an incident in 2023 in which an Israeli airstrike killed three young girls and their grandmother in Lebanon.
Similarly, a January exposé by Israeli news outlet +972 Magazine uncovered Microsoft’s deep entanglement with Israeli military operations. Leaked documents from Israel’s Defence Ministry showed that Microsoft maintained “a footprint in all major military infrastructures” in the country, with the Israeli military’s use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud services increasing 64-fold following October 7th.
Before being escorted from the event, which was livestreamed, Aboussad threw a keffiyeh—a symbol of Palestinian solidarity—onto the stage, stating that Suleyman and “all of Microsoft” had “blood on their hands.”
Suleyman briefly responded to the interruption, saying: “Thank you for your protest, I hear you.”
After her expulsion from the event, Aboussad sent an internal message to her colleagues in which she stated:
“Microsoft has signed contracts with the Zionist occupation that empower it to kill civilians and assist in assassinations and targeted strikes through data analysis and tracking.”
“Staying silent about this crime is an even greater crime. That’s why I chose to speak out—no matter the cost.”
A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, later interrupted another segment of the event featuring the rare joint appearance of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, current CEO Satya Nadella, and former CEO Steve Ballmer—their first public gathering since 2014.
This incident represents an escalation in internal dissent at Microsoft. In February, five employees were removed from a meeting with Nadella for protesting the company’s military contracts. Following Friday’s protest, both Aboussad and Agrawal were locked out of their corporate accounts, suggesting potential termination, according to reports by the Associated Press.
Microsoft later issued the following statement:
“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard… Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
Staying silent about this crime is an even greater crime. That’s why I chose to speak out—no matter the cost.”
Renowned da’ee, author, activist, and Muslim community leader Shaykh Omar Suleiman penned a public message to Aboussad, commending her for her unwavering courage:
After Israel broke the January ceasefire with an aerial offensive on March 18, murdering 1,249 Palestinians in cold blood and injuring 3,022. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant now face International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for alleged war crimes, and Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s bloodthirsty genocidal rampage has led to at least 50,609 confirmed murders and 115,063 injuries. The Gaza Government Media Office places the death toll even higher, at over 61,700, including thousands still buried under rubble and presumed dead.
The protest at Microsoft is part of a broader wave of activism across corporations and academic institutions, as public outcry intensifies over affiliations with Israel. Nearly the entire population of 2.3 million has been internally displaced, with widespread food insecurity gripping the region.
The incident has pushed for the ethical responsibilities of major tech companies—especially Microsoft—in their partnerships with occupying regimes, raising urgent questions about corporate complicity in fuelling atrocities in Palestine.