There Is Hope
Millions of people dream of landing a job at big tech companies like Google and Microsoft. The prestige, the pay, the perks—it’s the ultimate career goal for many. And yet, recently there are engineers and developers who chose to risk it all. They opened their eyes to the human cost of their employers’ contracts and took a stand.
These engineers aren’t superheroes—they’re simply humans. They had comfortable, well-paid positions and everything society tells us to chase. Yet they chose conscience over comfort. Their stand forces us to ask: What kind of people do we want to be?
March 6, 2024
A Google Cloud engineer interrupted a Google Israel presentation to decry Project Nimbus as “cloud apartheid,” shouting “I refuse to build technology that powers genocide or surveillance,” and demanding the contract’s cancellation.
BREAKING—PRO-PALESTINE @googlecloud ENGINEER DISRUPTS @Google ISRAEL DIRECTOR AT GOOGLE-SPONSORED ISRAELI TECH CONFERENCE IN NYC.
— No Tech For Apartheid (@NoTechApartheid) March 4, 2024
The worker demanded that Google STOP using worker labor to power genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. #NoTechForApartheid pic.twitter.com/t2mqCqFFay
Microsoft
April 4, 2025
Ibtihal Aboussad a software engineer disrupted Microsoft’s 50th‑anniversary event by calling the AI division’s CEO a “war profiteer” and shouting “Stop using AI for genocide in our region.” She demanded Microsoft halt supplying AI and cloud services used in violence against Palestinians and was dismissed days later for “acts of misconduct.”
May 19, 2025
Microsoft employee Joe Lopez interrupted Build keynotes, chanting “Free Palestine!” and criticizing Azure’s role in “powering” alleged war crimes. He called on Microsoft to end its cloud and AI contracts with the Israeli government.
NEW: Microsoft Engineer Disrupts Nadella Keynote Over Genocide Complicity
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 19, 2025
Joe Lopez, a member of the No Azure for Apartheid campaign and a firmware engineer in Azure’s hardware division, interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s Build conference keynote on Monday. In a letter published… https://t.co/Xa1MqMs2R0 pic.twitter.com/PhV7g1OYPO
May 23, 2025
A Palestinian staffer bypassed filters blocking terms like “Palestine” or “Gaza,” sending a mass email titled “You can’t get rid of us” to thousands of employees. The message condemned Microsoft’s “blatant censorship” of internal discussion and urged colleagues to sign a petition pressing the company to end its military contracts.
It might seem like the odds are stacked against them—that evil is winning. But remember
“Resistance is its own reward.”
– Haunani-Kay Trask
This is a reminder that moral courage doesn’t require super power—only the willingness to act like a human. As readers and members of the tech community, we can honor their bravery by asking hard questions, speaking our minds, and never assuming that silence is the safer path. Because in the end, staying silent is the greatest cost of all.
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