‘Shem on You’: Microsoft’s 50th anniversary incident prohibited video by Palestinian employee

Microsoft’s 50th anniversary ceremony took an unexpected turn on Friday when two employees staged Pro-Filistin protests During the company’s high-profile event, the Israeli increases objections on its reported participation with the army.
The first protest took place while Microsoft AI’s CEO Mustafa Suleman The company’s Copilot was presenting an update on the product and underlining its long -term vision. As he said, Microsoft Employees Ibtihal Absad Arrived at the stage and interrupted his comment.
“Mustafa, ashamed of you,” he said. “You claim that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli army. Fifty thousand people have died and Microsoft gives powers to this massacre in our region.”
Suleman replied, “Thanks to your opposition, I hear you,” Absad accused the company of “blood on their hands”, before continuing. He then threw a kefih scarf – which was seen as a symbol of Palestinian support – survived on stage and site.
Later in the incident, another employee, Vania AggarwalMicrosoft co-founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Balmer and the current CEO Satya Nadeli, disrupted another segment. The three had not appeared publicly simultaneously since 2014. Meanwhile, more employees ralled outside the venue.
Earlier this year an associated press investigation was followed in this protest, stating that an Israeli military program used Microsoft and AI tools to help identify the goals of bombing in Gaza and Lebanon. The story consisted of an account of the 2023 air strike, which accidentally killed a civil vehicle in Lebanon, killing three children and his grandmother.
Friday’s performances were not earlier. In February, five Microsoft employees were removed from an internal meeting with Nadella after opposing the company’s contracts related to Israel. However, the incident of anniversary – has increased globally – the most public settings have been marked for such dissatisfaction.
In a statement, Microsoft said: “We provide many avenues to listen to all voices. The important thing is that we ask that it is done in a way that does not disrupted business. If this happens, we ask the participants to move. We are committed to maintain our business practices.”
Aboussad later told The Associated Press that he and Aggarwal had lost access to their work accounts after protest and were unable to log back in – a sign that he was rejected.