Microsoft is facing growing criticism because people say it is connected to Israel’s military. Some of the strongest critics are Microsoft’s workers. In 2025, at least three times, Microsoft employees have spoken out against the company’s links to the Israeli military. Recently, Microsoft wrote a blog post to respond to these worries. The company said there is no proof that its technology is being used to hurt or kill people in Gaza.

However, Microsoft has also started blocking some internal emails. These emails include words like “Palestine,” “Gaza,” and “genocide.” The company is stopping these emails from being sent through its Exchange email system. This action looks like a way to control what employees can talk about inside the company.

A group of pro-Palestinian Microsoft employees called No Azure for Apartheid revealed that the company is blocking internal emails containing words like “Palestine” and “Gaza.” This email filter was reportedly turned on soon after a Microsoft event, Build 2025, was disrupted by an engineer speaking out. Some word variations like “Israel” or “Palestine” are still allowed, but employees say this shows Microsoft is limiting internal criticism.

Adding to the criticism, musician and artist Brian Eno, who created the Windows 95 startup sound, spoke out against Microsoft. In an Instagram post, Eno said the company is involved in “surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine.” He urged Microsoft to stop services that help with actions breaking international law. Eno said he enjoyed working with Microsoft on Windows 95 but never thought the company would later be part of what he called “oppression and war.”

Recently, some Microsoft employees have protested publicly. During the Build 2025 event, engineer Joe Lopez interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s speech, accusing Microsoft of helping Israel’s military. Lopez later sent an internal email saying Microsoft gave Israel’s military special access to its technology soon after the October 7, 2023, attacks. He called this support a part of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.

A report says the Israeli military is one of Microsoft’s top 500 global customers. Microsoft responded by saying a third-party review found no evidence of harm caused by its tools. Lopez disagreed, calling these audits not transparent and said, “We see it live on the internet every day.”

Other employees have also protested. Last month, Vaniya Agrawal interrupted Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event, saying the company’s cloud and AI services support “automated apartheid and genocide” in Israel. Another engineer, Ibtihal Aboussad, spoke out against Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, at a recent event.
These protests show growing concern among Microsoft staff about the company’s role in the conflict in Gaza.