Microsoft Fires Engineer After Pro-Palestinian Protest at Build 2025

Microsoft terminated software engineer Joe Lopez after he interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote at the Build developer conference in Seattle. Lopez accused Microsoft of enabling Israeli military actions in Gaza through its Azure cloud services, shouting, “Free Palestine” and alleging complicity in war crimes. Security promptly escorted him from the venue.

Following the incident, Lopez sent a company-wide email criticizing Microsoft’s leadership for its silence and asserting that Azure technology supports Israeli military operations. He is affiliated with “No Azure for Apartheid,” a group of current and former Microsoft employees opposing the company’s contracts with the Israeli government.

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This protest is part of a series of employee actions against Microsoft’s involvement with Israel. In April, engineers Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal disrupted the company’s 50th-anniversary event, leading to their dismissals. Agrawal continued her activism by interrupting an AI session at Build 2025, confronting executives over the company’s ties to the Israeli military.

Microsoft did acknowledge providing AI services to the Israeli military, but claims no evidence has been found to harm civilians in Gaza. However, the company has faced criticism for reportedly blocking internal emails containing terms like “Palestine” and “Gaza,” raising concerns about censorship.