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Greetings,
Microsoft has just terminated the Israeli army's access to technology that the army's notorious Unit 8200 was using to power a mass surveillance project of Palestinians. This is a pivotal move that follows months of sustained pressure by shareholders, employees, and organizers and comes after the company launched an external inquiry in response to our latest investigation into Microsoft’s troublingly close relationship with the Israeli military.
Over the last year, we have investigated the many ways that the Israeli army has employed Microsoft’s technology in its assault on Gaza. From a heavy reliance on Microsoft cloud and AI products to direct coordination between senior company executives and Israel’s elite intelligence Unit 8200, our reporting at Local Call jointly with The Guardian and +972 Magazine has exposed a partnership between the tech company and Israeli military that has facilitated the persecution and killing of Palestinians, with the consequences overwhelmingly impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
While other Israeli military projects using Microsoft's technology are unaffected by this decision, Microsoft’s distancing from Unit 8200—roughly equivalent in function to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)—sets a stunning new precedent, signaling that major players are growing wary of charges of complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
With determination,
Alix Gerz
Chief of Staff, Just Vision
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