Microsoft Encourages Employee Donations to Illegal West Bank Settlements, While Barring UNRWA

Microsoft includes a number organizations based in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including at least one that fundraises to support the Israeli military, in its employee charitable giving platform. Yet the company has delisted the UN agency providing relief in Gaza, according to Microsoft employees petitioning the company internally to change its policy. The listing of the charities on the expansive platform means Microsoft will automatically match contributions.

Last week, a group of Microsoft employees began circulating a petition calling on the company to cease matching contributions to three organizations, the Ma’aleh Adumim Foundation, Ein Prat Academy for Leadership, and the Megilot Dead Sea Rescue Team, which they say “are in direct violation of international law,” citing the Geneva Conventions.

Since October 7, Microsoft employees have been embroiled in a fierce conflict over the company’s response to Israel’s bombing of Gaza. A report by Business Insider last November described an acrimonious culture within the company, with divisions among employees and management emerging as a result of the war and ongoing humanitarian crisis. One point of contention has been the continued provision of Microsoft Azure cloud computing and AI software to the Israeli military, support that has been targeted by an employee led-campaign called No Azure for Apartheid.