The Workers’ Toolkit

At No Azure For Apartheid, we refuse to be cogs in the Israeli genocidal machine. We believe that the labor of tech workers should not be used to enable Israel’s war crimes, apartheid, and genocide. We believe that only the organizing and action of Microsoft workers, former workers, and community members can create the pressure necessary to force Microsoft to end its involvement in Israel’s AI-driven genocide in Palestine.

This toolkit is intended as a resource for any Microsoft employees who are looking to hold Microsoft leadership accountable, to the company’s own acceptable use and human rights standards, and to international law. Gaza has called on all of us to act and speak up, rather than standby and allow a livestreamed genocide to continue and accelerate. We hope that you can use the resources here to:

Start conversations with your colleagues to inform them and get them involved in the campaign.
Keep the conversation alive. Ensure that Microsoft’s senior leadership team has to confront questions about Palestine and Microsoft’s involvement in genocide.
Build momentum inside the company, so that this campaign can continue to grow and win
Raise your concerns as a Microsoft employee. According to Microsoft’s own Standards of Business Conduct guidance, workers are encouraged to voice their concerns about potential violations of business conduct and applicable laws.

Please treat this toolkit only as a starting place. Feel free to take content here and adapt it to better fit your own voice, and seek additional ways to act against genocide. Finally, remember that it’s okay for questions and messages to be reused; consistency is an asset not a deficit. Our questions and statements are often deleted or silenced on company platforms, so repetition can help us improve the odds that they’ll get through and that others will see them.

We will continue to improve and update this toolkit with more resources over time. Last update: November 2025

Email Your Teammate(s) 📫

Find a few draft options below, varying in degree of confrontation and directness (🌶️, 🌶️🌶️, or 🌶️🌶️🌶️)

🌶️

Hello <team member’s name>/team,

I joined Microsoft because I believed in our mission to empower every person on the planet to achieve more. But, I did not imagine that this would include empowering a military to violate international law and cause the deaths of countless civilians.

Evidence of Microsoft’s complicity with the Israeli military’s crimes has been accumulating and I think it’s time that we all speak up and urge Microsoft SLT to end this complicity. Numerous investigations have shown that Microsoft has a “footprint in all major military infrastructures” in Israel, enabling illegal mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and facilitating the military onslaught on Gaza.

As a result of employee protest and public pressure, Microsoft recently announced that it will discontinue "some services" to unit 8200 related to storage of mass surveillance data on Palestinians. While this is a positive change, it is far from sufficient, because we know that these storage services represent a small fraction of the portfolio of Microsoft services provided to the Israeli Occupation Forces. In fact Israel's reliance on Azure services and AI systems surged in the most intensive phase of its genocide in Gaza.

Please help to hold Microsoft leadership accountable to our own human rights and acceptable use standards.

Here are some ways you can help:

Send a message to Microsoft leadership demanding the company cut ties with Israel’s genocide and sign this petition demanding the same.
Make your voice heard by questioning the SLT’s decision to continue partnering with Israel’s Genocide in any and all forums. Find our worker toolkit at noaa.cc/toolkit to get started.
Get involved and organize with other workers, because together we have the power to make sure that our code can’t be used to kill.

🌶️🌶️

Hello <team member’s name>/team,

Have you seen the recent investigation published in the Guardian about Microsoft cloud services being used by the Israeli Military to store a massive trove of data on Palestinians? I find this news disturbing and I’m sure that you do too.

According to the Guardian’s investigation, no Palestinian has been spared from Israel’s illegal surveillance which has accumulated 11,500 terabytes of data, including roughly 200 million hours of phone calls, all of which are stored and accessed via Microsoft servers. This is only the latest news of Microsoft’s complicity in the crimes being committed by Israel in Palestine. Prior investigations have revealed that Microsoft has a “footprint in all major military infrastructures” in Israel, enabling the violation of Palestinian human rights and facilitating the military onslaught on Gaza.

It has been difficult for many of us to watch Palestinians endure such enormous loss over the past 2 years, and now a man made famine caused by Israel’s blockade has already led to the death by starvation of hundreds, so many of them children.

Given the credible reporting of Microsoft’s involvement with the Israeli military, I think it’s important that we speak up and urge Microsoft leadership to change course and cut ties with these atrocities.

I don’t want my work to contribute to killing children, and I know that you don’t either. I’m urging you to do everything that you can to make your voice heard.

Here are some ways you can help:

Send a message to Microsoft leadership demanding the company cut ties with Israel’s genocide and sign this petition demanding the same.
Make your voice heard by questioning the SLT’s decision to continue partnering with Israel’s Genocide in any and all forums. Find our worker toolkit at noaa.cc/toolkit to get started.
Get involved and organize with other workers, because together we have the power to make sure that our code can’t be used to kill.

🌶️🌶️🌶️

Hello <team member’s name>/team,

I’m writing to you today to talk to you about an issue that is important to me. I’m deeply concerned about our company’s involvement in the atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians. Microsoft tech, code that you and I write, features that we design and build, have been used to make Israel’s Genocide in Palestine possible.

Over the past 22 months, Israel has killed 61,599 people, including at least 18,430 children in Gaza, though the true count is likely closer to 200,000. Israel has made Gaza home to the largest number of child amputees in modern history. And Israel has done all of this with Microsoft’s help.

It would be impossible for me to list here all of the ways that Microsoft is complicit in Israel’s crimes, but these are some important highlights:

Microsoft has a “footprint in all major military infrastructures” in Israel, enabling illegal mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and facilitating the military onslaught on Gaza.
In October 2023, when the Israeli Occupation Forces’ self managed cloud became overwhelmed, Israel turned to private cloud providers including Microsoft. The Israeli military’s Azure consumption surged by 60% in the first six months of its assault on Gaza.
Microsoft data centers hold 11,500 terabytes of data used by the Israeli Occupation Forces, including roughly 200 million hours of audio collected through the illegal surveillance of all Palestinians’ phone calls. That same cellphone data is used to facilitate military targeting.

The United Nations has called on Microsoft and other corporate entities to end their involvement in Israel’s crimes, “or be held to account.” The evidence that Microsoft technologies facilitate atrocities and human rights violations in Palestine is overwhelming and undeniable, in spite of the company’s flimsy denial.

I don’t want my work to contribute to killing children, and I know that you don’t either. I’m urging you to do everything that you can to pressure Microsoft to finally refuse to profit from war crimes and fully divest from Israel.

Here are some ways you can help:

Send a message to Microsoft leadership demanding the company cut ties with Israel’s genocide and sign this petition demanding the same.
Make your voice heard by questioning the SLT’s decision to continue partnering with Israel’s Genocide in any and all forums. Find our worker toolkit at noaa.cc/toolkit to get started.
Get involved and organize with other workers, because together we have the power to make sure that our code can’t be used to kill.

Ask Questions 📣

Use these questions at town halls and AMAs or in any other venue where you can confront decision makers, like CVPs.

When considering our customers and abiding by our ethical standards, where do we draw the line when deciding to stop serving a customer?
Why has Microsoft not denied the recent allegations in the Guardian and +972 Magazine about enabling mass surveillance in Palestine?
If the current investigation by Covington & Burling LLP shows that Azure is being used for mass surveillance of Palestinians, exactly what actions will be taken?
The recent protests on campus demonstrate the depth of frustration felt by Microsoft workers and community members about the use of Microsoft tech to enable war crimes in Gaza. Will Microsoft finally heed these urgent calls and act immediately to cut ties with customers who violate our own human rights standards and Acceptable Use policies?
Why did Microsoft choose to remove community and worker protests on campus instead of attempting to engage with the community’s concerns? Do you believe that policing our campus is a more effective way of dealing with these widespread concerns than simply acknowledging the plain truth of Microsoft’s complicity with Israel’s genocide and making a change?
Why does Microsoft continue to repress critical speech among workers and protests on campus in spite of the harmful impact this has on employee morale and the fact that this repression will not make criticism disappear?
What steps has the SLT taken to address the legal liability associated with allowing Microsoft services to be used to enable war crimes and other circumventions of human rights laws?
In spite of Microsoft’s repeated efforts to silence employees who are outspoken against Microsoft’s involvement in genocide, negative public opinion has only grown and protests have escalated. Will Microsoft change course instead of continuing this failed policy of repression?
Evidence in reporting by The Guardian and +972 Magazine shows that the Israeli military has not abided by Microsoft’s Acceptable Use policies and human rights commitment in its use of Microsoft services. Why has this customer been allowed to continue using our services in spite of these flagrant violations?
What is the SLT’s response to the UN report condemning Microsoft of genocide profiteering and calling on the company to cut ties with Israel?
Though multiple investigations and reports over the past 20 months have named Microsoft’s technical enablement of the Israel’s genocide, Microsoft has yet to deny these accusations and has instead offered a non-denial of “we haven’t found evidence to prove this”. Why should the public and Microsoft employees not view this as an evasive PR tactic and a failure to prevent Microsoft services from being used to enable a genocide?
What is your response to Israeli army sources describing Microsoft as “having a footprint in all major military infrastructure”?
Why did Satya see fit to personally meet with the head of Unit 8200, Yossi Sariel, in 2021 in spite of that military unit already having a documented track record of conducting illegal mass surveillance of Palestinian civilians?
Exactly who conducted the first “independent investigation” that Microsoft claims did not find evidence of Microsoft tech being used in the harm of Gazan civilians? Why has Microsoft not provided any evidence of this investigation result?
What is your response to the head of the IDF’s Center of Computing and Information Systems stating that without data and computing “accurate targeting would not be possible” given the public knowledge and your admission that the IDF hosts data on Microsoft servers?
Whatever they use our tech for, should we have any business relationship with a government that has killed at least 18,430 children in 22 months and is currently starving hundreds of thousands more?
How often does Satya or other members of the SLT meet with Israeli military officials?
We know that the Israeli army purchases “extended engineering services” from Microsoft, which means the Microsoft Personnel and engineers are deeply involved with the development of systems and products used by the Israeli Military. Given this fact, how is it possible that Microsoft was not aware of the use of our services to surveil and kill Palestinians?
Given the well-documented war crimes committed by the Israeli military, is there any part of the Israeli government and military that Microsoft would deny service to? Any contracts with the Israeli Military that are being reconsidered?
Did Microsoft choose to host Israel’s illegal surveillance and targeting data on Palestinians on our Netherlands servers instead of Germany or France because the latter two countries have regulations that require human rights review of how services are used? And if so, doesn’t data held within Netherlands services still come under the purview of GDPR which provides data subjects the right to have their data deleted?
Microsoft recommends us to use “proper channels” when we raise concerns about Microsoft’s Cloud and AI partnerships with the Israeli Military. But when we use the channels that we are encouraged to use as part of our SBC training - including ReportItNow and business conduct hotline ([email protected]) - they are closed without proper explanation. In some cases, the filings are referred to HR, who happen to be in a hiring & firing capacity over us, thus violating the spirit of anti-retaliation and identity-protection of employees who raise concerns. Can Leadership clarify what exactly is meant by “proper channels”?
Does Microsoft have any formal procedures to ensure that its customers are abiding by its ethics and acceptable use policies, or does it wait for public media reports to investigate violations?
In February 2025, AP News reported that “The Israeli military uses Microsoft Azure to compile information gathered through mass surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including phone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems.” Why did Microsoft not investigate this illegal use of Azure to enable mass surveillance until August when it was reported on again by The Guardian?

Send a Teams Message 💬

Hey @Everyone! As you may already know, THE BALL IS ROLLING 🎉! Microsoft has taken action following internal and external protests and concerns on the matter, and has stopped the sale of a subset of its cloud and AI services to Unit 8200 of Israeli Military. It is the first known instance of a US technology company withdrawing services provided to the Israeli military since the beginning of the genocide!!! We have power, humanity has power ❤️

Let's keep the ball rolling - there's a lot more that Microsoft can do and should do, to fully divest from the genocide of Palestinians. Investigations by The Guardian, AP, +972 Magazine, and Dropsite News have shown that Microsoft services more than 635 individual subscriptions under its agreement with the Israeli military to units such as the Israeli military’s central computing unit (Mamram), Air Force’s Ofek Unit, and army units that manage the population registry and movement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Here's examples of what each and @Everyone of us can do:

Sign the internal petition for Microsoft to cut unethical ties with the Israeli Military: No Azure for Apartheid: IOF Off Azure! (already 2132 MS workers have signed it, and there's an option for anonymity!)
Pledge for Palestine
Learn more about the MS internal worker movement: No Azure for Apartheid.
Join PAAM for updates (Palestinians and Allies at MS) http://aka.ms/PAAM
Be an ally of Palestinians (:
Raise ethical concerns with HR ([email protected]) and Workplace Investigations WIT ([email protected]).
Ask questions and raise concerns to leadership in AMAs/town halls where possible.
If comfortable, share your perspective and concerns with your manager and close coworkers. It always helps to talk with someone. You can DM me for example (:

Hi team, some of us may already be aware but wanted to share for those who are not. Microsoft currently provides a wide array of services to the Israeli Military, including services used in the course of Israel's genocide in Gaza. As a result of employee protest and public pressure, Microsoft recently announced that it will discontinue "some services" to unit 8200 related to storage of mass surveillance data on Palestinians. But this isn't enough, given that according to leaked documents Microsoft has a “footprint in all major military infrastructures” in Israel. If you are one of the thousands of workers like myself who are concerned about your labor being channeled into enabling violence against Palestinians, you can check out these resources:

Pledge for Palestine
No Azure for Apartheid

Hey, did you know that your labor may be enabling mass surveillance? You can read about this at ‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians. If you want to stop enabling this and hold Microsoft accountable,

Send your message to our Leadership by signing the internal petition demanding Microsoft to cut unethical ties with the Israeli Military: No Azure for Apartheid: IOF Off Azure! (already 2,083 MS workers have signed it, and there's an option for anonymity!)
Sign the Pledge for Palestine
Learn more about the MS internal worker movement No Azure for Apartheid

Hi! Have you seen the news about Microsoft’s involvement in the Israeli military? Sources say that Microsoft “has a footprint in all major [Israeli] military infrastructure”. I don’t think that Microsoft should continue to do business with a military that is conducting a genocide. I hope that you agree. If so, please sign this petition and find other ways to help pressure Microsoft to change course here.

You might have heard that Microsoft recently announced that it will discontinue "some services" to unit 8200 related to storage of mass surveillance data on Palestinians. This positive change came as a result of employee protest and public pressure, but it is far from sufficient. We know that these storage services represent a small fraction of the portfolio of Microsoft services provided to the Israeli Occupation Forces. In fact Israel's reliance on Azure services and AI systems surged in the most intensive phase of its assault on Gaza.

Until recently, Microsoft hosted 11,500 terabytes of surveillance data on Palestinians that is used for military targeting. Although Microsoft announced that it will discontinue hosting this data, the Israeli military continues to rely on a wide array of Microsoft services, a reliance that surged in the most intensive phase of its assault on Gaza.

Did you know that Microsoft was recently condemned in a UN report about corporations profiteering from Apartheid and Genocide? Microsoft was called out for providing cloud services to the Israeli military that facilitate the management of illegal settlements, military targeting, and illegal mass surveillance of Palestinians. I don’t think that we should be in the business of violating human rights, no matter the profit. Please sign this petition and find other ways to help pressure Microsoft to change course here.

Hey team! I’ve been really disappointed with the culture of repression that has been developing in our company. We keep seeing Microsoft employees and community members get punished for speaking up and urging Microsoft to stop providing cloud services for Israel to use in illegally surveilling and killing tens of thousands of Palestinians. I hope you’ll join me in objecting to this repression and calling on Microsoft to get on the right side of history and cut all ties with Israel. Please sign this petition and find other ways to help pressure Microsoft to change course here.

Use your Teams Status 📌

When you set your Teams status, be sure to check the box that says “show when people message me”.

Refuse to let your labor be used for genocide and apartheid - https://aka.ms/PledgeForPalestine

If you want to write code that empowers, not code that kills, take this pledge - https://aka.ms/PledgeForPalestine

Don’t let your code kill children - https://noaa.cc/sign/internal

Refuse to be complicit in genocide - https://noaa.cc/sign/internal

Refuse to let your work enable killing and starving of children - https://aka.ms/PledgeForPalestine

In honor of Anas Al-Sharif and the rest of the 270 journalists killed by Israel in the past 22 months, I call on Microsoft to cut ties with Israel. https://noazureforapartheid.com/

In honor of Mohammed Al-Agha (13yo), his 3 younger siblings, and both his parents – all of whom were killed by Israel in Gaza – I call on Microsoft to cut ties with genocide: https://noazureforapartheid.com/

In honor of the 1,238 Palestinian families who were completely wiped out by Israel’s bombardments in Gaza between Oct 2023 and Oct 2024, I call on Microsoft to cut ties with Israel. https://noazureforapartheid.com/

I’m a father/mother/parent , and I call on Microsoft to cut ties with the military that has killed 18,430 children in 22 months. https://noazureforapartheid.com/

I’m a father/mother/parent, and I call on Microsoft to cut ties with the military that has made Gaza home to the largest number of child amputees in modern history. https://noazureforapartheid.com/

I’m a father/mother/parent, and I call on Microsoft to cut ties with the military that is blocking baby formula from entering Gaza. https://noazureforapartheid.com/

Use Your Profile Pic 🇵🇸

You can use your profile picture to express solidarity with Palestine and amplify No Azure on Apartheid. Use this tool to decorate your profile picture to show your support for our campaign. Once you’ve saved your new profile picture, you can update your picture on Teams or social media.

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Quick Reference 🧾

Use the references below as evidence and documentation of Microsoft’s involvement in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Please note that this collection of references is incomplete and is intended as an easily accessible starting place. Find even more resources in our posts here.

Microsoft is storing Israeli intelligence trove used to attack Palestinians (+972 article)

Satya meets with the head of Israeli military intelligence unit, UNIT8200, to promise cloud isolation
200 million hours of Palestinian phone calls, 11,500 Terabytes of data on palestinian civilians
Data housed in the Netherlands instead of France or Germany to avoid human rights regulations

Microsoft has a “footprint in all major military infrastructures” in Israel (+972 article)

Azure services used by the Air Force’s Ofek Unit, which is responsible for managing large databases of potential targets for lethal airstrikes (known as the “target bank”) and the Matspen Unit, which is responsible for the development of operational and combat support systems
The Israeli army purchases “extended engineering services” from Microsoft providing direct specialized access to Microsoft personnel who then assist with the development of systems and products

Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during the war genocide in Gaza (Guardian article)

Microsoft’s products and services, chiefly its Azure cloud computing platform, were used by units across Israel’s air, ground and naval forces, as well as its intelligence directorate

UN calls out Microsoft for profiteering from an economy of occupation and an economy of genocide (UN Report)

Microsoft technologies are embedded in the prison service, police, universities and schools – including in colonies
Microsoft’s Israel-located servers ensure data sovereignty and a shield from accountability, under favourable contracts offering minimal restrictions or oversight
The Special Rapporteur calls for accountability for corporate entities and their executives at both the domestic and international levels: commercial endeavours enabling and profiting from the obliteration of innocent people’s lives must cease.