Microsoft Israel head ousted reportedly over IDF’s controversial use of cloud tech

Alon Haimovich’s departure comes as the US tech giant, over the past year, conducted a review into the alleged unethical use of its cloud platform for surveillance of Palestinians

Microsoft’s Israel general manager Alon Haimovich will be stepping down, following the findings of an internal review into the alleged unethical use of the US tech giant’s Azure cloud platform by Israel’s military, according to a report by Israeli financial daily Globes.

Microsoft announced Haimovich’s departure last week but gave no reason.

The move comes after Microsoft last year initiated a review of its dealings with the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200 in response to a report by the UK’s Guardian and the far-left activist outlet +972 Magazine. The report claimed that Azure software was used to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In September, Microsoft cut some of the Israeli army’s access to certain cloud services over the use of its Azure cloud platform for expansive surveillance of Palestinians, and alleged violation of the company’s terms of service.

Haimovich, who is leaving after four years in the position, was reportedly summoned in recent weeks by an investigative team led by Microsoft’s global management, according to Globes. The investigation is said to have centered around violations of Microsoft’s code of ethics amid concerns that the company’s Israel subsidiary was not fully transparent with global headquarters about how the IDF’s 8200 unit uses its cloud platform and technology systems.

Several managers in Microsoft Israel’s governance department will also be leaving their positions, Globes reported on Monday.

Microsoft declined to comment on further details regarding Haimovich’s departure from his role on May 31 and additional Israel-based staff leaving their roles.

Haimovich joined Microsoft Israel seven years ago as Public Sector Lead, before assuming the position of general manager four years ago. Microsoft said it will announce Haimovich’s successor in “due course.”

“Haimovich will embark on a new professional path in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence,” Microsoft said. “During his tenure, Microsoft Israel became one of the three fastest-growing countries within its peer countries cluster across the company, achieved a number of standout milestones and drove a shift toward Frontier AI leadership.”

Microsoft’s ties to Israel have been the subject of several protests at the company’s offices, including sit-ins and demonstrations led by the No Azure for Apartheid protest group.

In August last year, the company fired four employees who participated in protests on company premises. Microsoft said the terminations followed serious breaches of company policies and said recent on-site demonstrations had “created significant safety concerns.”

Previously, Microsoft had denied claims that artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing technologies it supplies to the Israeli military have been used to target people in Gaza during the war with the Hamas terror group.

Microsoft currently operates development centers in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Nazareth, with most of its 3,000 employees working on projects including cybersecurity, AI technologies, big data, and healthcare, as well as sales and marketing.

The company opened a local branch in Israel in 1989, and established its first R&D center in Israel, its first outside the US, in 1991.