The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and its Washington chapter (CAIR-WA) today welcomed a decision by Microsoft to disable services used by units of the Israeli military to spy on civilians in Gaza during its ongoing genocide.
Microsoft said it disabled a set of cloud and AI services used by a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense after an internal review found preliminary evidence supporting media reports of a surveillance system in Gaza and the West Bank. A joint investigation published in early August by the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call reported that an Israeli military surveillance agency used Microsoft’s Azure to store large volumes of mobile phone call recordings from Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.
SEE: Microsoft disables services to Israel defense unit after review | Reuters
In a statement, CAIR-WA Executive Director Imraan Siddiqi said:
“This is a welcome step and a point of vindication for those brave tech workers who stood up and protested. However, Microsoft and all tech companies must completely divest from their activities supporting the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and ensure that their employees who speak up against human rights abuses are protected.”
CAIR National Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“No American corporation should be providing resources to a genocidal government, let alone resources that directly aid in their criminal endeavors. We welcome this decision by Microsoft and urge them and all American companies to fully cut ties with the genocidal Israeli government.”
Sabrene Odeh, CAIR-WA Community Legal Advocate said: “Though a step in the right direction, this is not enough to end Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide perpetrated by Israel. Tech workers, across the board, have been sounding the alarm for two years with serious concerns over how technology is being used against civilians. If Microsoft is ready to end its complicity, it must listen to the brave tech workers in its base—who have been discriminated against, let go, and even quit their jobs because they no longer can be accomplices to the crimes Israel is committing—and end all ties with Israel.”
CAIR previously hosted a news conference by No Azure for Apartheid (NOAA) at which fired Microsoft workers, No Azure for Apartheid organizers, and community members spoke about the arrests and firings that resulted from their participation in a sit-in at the office of Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, in which they demanded Microsoft cut its ties with Israel’s apartheid and genocide.
CAIR also previously called on Microsoft to deny Israel the use of its servers to store data reportedly used to carry out its genocide in Gaza.
SEE: CAIR-WA, CAIR Call on Microsoft to Deny Israel Use of Servers for Gaza Genocide
CAIR also previously condemned Microsoft for their apparent censorship of the word “Palestine” from company emails.
SEE: CAIR-WA Condemns Microsoft’s Censoring of the Word ‘Palestine’
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Newswire Editor | Radio Free (2025-09-25T18:30:28+00:00) CAIR, CAIR-WA Welcome Microsoft Disabling Services Used by Israeli Forces to Spy on Civilians in Gaza Genocide. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/09/25/cair-cair-wa-welcome-microsoft-disabling-services-used-by-israeli-forces-to-spy-on-civilians-in-gaza-genocide/
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