September, 25 2025, 02:30pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,Phone: 202-744-7726,E-Mail:,ihooper@cair.com
CAIR, CAIR-WA Welcome Microsoft Disabling Services Used by Israeli Forces to Spy on Civilians in Gaza Genocide
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’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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Trump 'Sends a Dangerous Message' With 'America First' Diplomat Purge, Says Union
The American Foreign Service Association said the move "tells our public servants that loyalty to country is no longer enough—that experience and oath to the Constitution take a back seat to political loyalty."
Dec 23, 2025
Following Politico's Friday reporting that "the Trump administration is recalling a number of career ambassadors appointed by former President Joe Biden," several news outlets confirmed Monday that the purge is affecting at least 29 diplomats.
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According to the Associated Press:
Africa is the continent most affected by the removals, with ambassadors from 13 countries being removed: Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, and Uganda.
Second is Asia, with ambassadorial changes coming to six countries: Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Vietnam affected.
Four countries in Europe (Armenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovakia) are affected; as are two each in the Middle East (Algeria and Egypt); South and Central Asia (Nepal and Sri Lanka); and the Western Hemisphere (Guatemala and Suriname).
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A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration acted illegally when it deported over 200 Venezuelan nationals to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process earlier this year.
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Boasberg is the same judge who launched criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration in April for "willful disregard" of his order to stop the flights to El Salvador. A pair of Trump-appointed judges later halted those proceedings.
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Pinto, who now lives in Colombia, has no criminal record. "I never even got a traffic ticket," he said.
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The men detained at CECOT were then transferred, mainly to Venezuela, in July as part of a prisoner exchange for 10 US nationals.
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In a message posted on X, the DOJ asserted that some of the latest documents "contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election."
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