“Free Palestine!”: Protestor Interrupts Microsoft EVP Jay Parikh Live on Stage
For the second consecutive day, Microsoft‘s annual Build developer conference was disrupted by pro-Palestine protestors. Following the interruption of CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote on Day 1, another protest broke out on Tuesday during a session led by Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of CoreAI,Parikh.
Jay Parikh, a prominent figure in Microsoft’s AI leadership, was onstage addressing developers and attendees when an unidentified individual began shouting from the audience. The protestor, described by activist group No Azure for Apartheid as a Palestinian tech worker, condemned Microsoft’s ties to the Israeli government via its Azure cloud services.
“Jay! My people are suffering!” the protestor yelled. “Cut ties! No Azure for apartheid! Free, free Palestine!”
The disruption during Jay Parikh’s keynote was brief. Security staff responded quickly, escorting the protestor out of the venue. A video of the incident was posted shortly afterward on Instagram by No Azure for Apartheid, which also claimed responsibility for a similar disruption the previous day during Satya Nadella’s keynote.
In Monday’s protest, Microsoft employee Joe Lopez interrupted Nadella’s opening address with accusations that Microsoft’s Azure platform enables Israeli military operations:
“Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians. How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?”
Hossam Nasr, an organizer with No Azure for Apartheid, confirmed to The Verge that both protests were planned by the group. He declined to name the second protestor but identified him as a “Palestinian tech worker.”
The back-to-back interruptions—first during Satya Nadella’s speech, then during Jay Parikh’s AI-focused presentation—highlight a growing movement of tech workers pushing back against corporate contracts they view as complicit in human rights violations. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has drawn criticism from activists over alleged collaboration with the Israeli military.
The protests also follow recent news that Microsoft fired two employees for protesting at the company’s 50th anniversary event, signaling rising tensions between management and activist employees.
Jay Parikh, who joined Microsoft in 2024 to lead its CoreAI division after previous leadership roles at Meta and Lacework, has been a central figure in the company’s AI development strategy. His disrupted session at Build 2025 underscores the rising intersection of AI leadership and corporate ethics debates.
The Microsoft Build conference is typically a showcase for the company’s technological innovations and partnerships. But this year, the narrative is being shaped by urgent questions around ethics, employee activism, and corporate responsibility.
As of now, Microsoft has not issued an official response to the disruptions involving Jay Parikh and Satya Nadella.