A software engineer has resigned from a senior role at Microsoft in Dublin over the technology company’s links to the Israeli military.
Zille Eizad worked with Microsoft for nine years, including more than seven years at its Irish headquarters in Leopardstown, South Dublin.
In a video message sent to his colleagues on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Eizad encouraged staff to “demand accountability from Microsoft of how your work is being used”.
“Please demand that Microsoft fully divests from Israeli military and government and suspends all contracts,” he said.
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He said he “never thought” the company he worked for would be involved in what he alleged was “empowering genocide and apartheid”.
Mr Eizad signed a petition of internal Microsoft staff last year objecting to the use of the company’s technology by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Shortly after Mr Eizad sent the video message about his resignation, a demonstration in support of his resignation was held outside Microsoft’s office in Leopardstown by the pro-Palestine campaign group Your Tech Their Deaths.
Jude Farrell, founder of the group, said people working in tech and beyond “have to step up and make a stand about this”.
“It’s not just about Palestine. If it can be done to Palestine, it can be done to any of us,” she said.
Mr Eizad, who regularly posts pro-Palestinian content online, is originally from Pakistan, but has lived in Ireland since 2018. He has previously lived in the US where he worked with Microsoft and Amazon.
In recent months, he has become increasingly disillusioned by Big Tech companies’ links to Israel.
He said many of his colleagues would not be surprised by the reasons for his resignation.
In August, an investigation carried out by The Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call revealed that Unit 8200, the Israeli military intelligence unit, was using Microsoft’s Azure cloud services to store and process vast quantities of interceptions of phone communications of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
According to the investigation, the ability to collect and analyse these communications helped shape military operations in the region.
Microsoft launched its own review in response to the investigation.
On September 25th, the tech giant said it had terminated the Israeli military’s access to certain subscriptions and services.
In May, Microsoft said an earlier internal review “found no evidence to date” that Azure or its artificial intelligence products were “used to target or harm people” in Palestine.
Mr Eizad described Microsoft’s response to The Guardian investigation as “pathetic”, claiming the company only ended this particular contract after coming under external pressure. He also questioned which other Microsoft services were still being used by the Israeli military.
Earlier this year, the Associated Press reported how the Israeli military’s service agreements with Microsoft included at least 635 individual subscriptions. Mr Eizad said he believed many of these accounts remained active.
Microsoft’s links to the IDF has prompted a number of protests at the company’s offices globally with some employees being fired.
Mr Eizad said Microsoft employees in Ireland and abroad had repeatedly raised concerns about the situation.
“Over the last year or so, a lot of Microsoft employees internally have raised concerns about Microsoft’s dealings and contracts with the Israeli military and government,” he said.
Mr Eizad said these concerns had been largely ignored by management at the company. He said deciding to resign from a secure job was a “very difficult decision” but he felt he had to take a stand.
The Irish Times has contacted Microsoft for comment.
In a company’s statement last month, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice-chair and president, said he appreciated that many staff “will have additional questions” about the company’s links to the Israeli military”.
“Our review is ongoing. I’ll share more information in the coming days and weeks, when it’s appropriate to do so, including lessons learned from this review and how we will apply those lessons as we go forward,” he said.
