Despite Official Normalization, This Is How Moroccans Rallied in Solidarity with Ibtihal Aboussad

Ibtihal Aboussad, a Moroccan Harvard graduate and software engineer at tech giant Microsoft, stirred widespread reactions after her powerful call for Gaza’s support and condemnation of the ongoing genocide in the region, as well as the use of technology to benefit the Israeli Occupation.

Her remarks came during a Microsoft event celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary on April 5, 2025, when she interrupted a speech by Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft's AI division, to protest the company’s support for the Israeli war on Gaza.

“Shame on you,” said Aboussad, speaking directly to Microsoft AI CEO Suleyman. “You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How dare you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children. Shame on you all.”

Shortly after the interruption, Aboussad sent an email, which was viewed by CNBC, to Suleyman and other Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella, finance chief Amy Hood, operating chief Carolina Dybeck Happe, and Brad Smith, the company’s president.

“I spoke up today because after learning that my org was powering the genocide of my people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice,” Aboussad wrote in the email. “This is especially true when I’ve witnessed how Microsoft has tried to quell and suppress any dissent from my coworkers who tried to raise this issue.”

“I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights,” Aboussad wrote, adding a link to a “No Azure for Apartheid” petition.

Ibtihal concluded: “We are witnessing genocide [..] Over the past year and a half, I’ve seen the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people at the hands of Israel.”

She went on to describe the indescribable suffering caused by Israeli Occupation’s severe human rights violations – indiscriminate bombing, targeting of hospitals and schools, and the continuation of apartheid – all condemned by the UN, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and numerous human rights organizations.

In her closing remarks, she said that the images of innocent children covered in ash and blood, the cries of grieving parents, and the destruction of entire families and communities had left her deeply shaken.

Praise from the Resistance

In a statement responding to the event, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) praised Moroccan engineer Ibtihal Aboussad for her “heroic and courageous stance in exposing Microsoft's complicity with the Zionist killing machine.”

The movement added in a statement, published by Quds Press on April 5, 2025, that “the Moroccan employee’s protest revealed the false ethical claims in the tech industry and exposed Microsoft's role as a partner in the shedding of Palestinian blood.”

Hamas also commended “every free voice that exposes the killing and stands with our people, as the global front of the free expands in opposition to the Zionist genocide.”

The movement pointed out that “the keffiyeh Aboussad threw on the stage was a resounding slap in the face of complicity with genocide, and a living voice for a free Palestine.”

Since October 7, 2023, with full U.S. backing, Israeli Occupatio forces have been committing genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip, leaving over 165,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, the majority being women and children, along with more than 11,000 missing.

The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement also praised Ibtihal Aboussad's free stance in rejecting Microsoft's complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“The Moroccan employee’s protest is a reflection of the living conscience of the world and reflects the growing disgust against anyone supporting the Zionist enemy [the Israeli Occupation] in the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” the movement stated.

It also urged “tech companies to stop their support for Zionist crimes and providing the means to continue the genocide against our steadfast Palestinian people.”

It further commended “every free and honorable voice defending our people and confronting Zionist oppression while exposing global complicity, both official and unofficial.”

The Mujahideen Movement called on “all the free people of our nation and the world to increase pressure on the Zionist entity [Israel], to surround Zionist and U.S. embassies, and to put an end to the ongoing massacres of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our people in Gaza.”

Moroccan Reactions

Aboussad’s bold stand sparked widespread admiration across Morocco. In Tangier, demonstrators took to the streets to salute her courage after she exposed Microsoft’s complicity with “Israel” during its 50th-anniversary celebration—a move that led to her suspension.

In her statement, university professor and human rights activist Latifa El-Bouhsini said Aboussad represents the Moroccan identity, one that is proud and honored to belong to the same homeland, nation, and civilization.

“She is the Moroccan face that carries the same values we grew up with in our families, in our broader social environment, and within our political, union, association, human rights, and women's organizations.”

“Ibtihal Aoussad clearly reflects the sentiments of the vast majority of Moroccans who have absorbed the Palestinian cause from their mother's milk since childhood,” El-Bouhishi added.

“For those of us who stand for the noblest of causes, no amount of normalization, Zionist spin, or attempts to silence voices of solidarity will ever break our resolve.”

Political activist Khaled Mouden criticized those who celebrated a settler nominated for a security position in stolen land, stating that these individuals failed to acknowledge Ibtihal, a young Moroccan, Harvard graduate, and engineer at one of the most prestigious tech companies of our time. He highlighted how these figures neglected her achievements and moral stance.

In a Facebook post on April 5, 2025, Mouden pointed out that they had not celebrated Ibtihal or her remarkable blend of intellect and ethics, instead preferring the image of a settler adorned in a decorative caftan or posing with a plate of couscous.

“They dislike Ibtihal because her protest struck at their hypocrisy long before it challenged Microsoft, a partner in genocide. She shattered their false narrative of nationalism, one that views Gaza as distant and Tel Aviv as closer than a heartbeat.”

Mouden concluded by affirming that Ibtihal represents the true essence of Moroccans, the enduring force that shaped and united the nation over centuries.

In response to the event, activist and blogger Jalal Aouita said, “From Fatima al-Fihriya, who founded the first university in the world in 859 AD, to Malika al-Fassi, who signed the independence petition in 1944, the history of Moroccan women is one of awareness, dignity, and action. What Ibtihal Aboussad has done is rewriting this chapter of history with a loud voice.”

“Ibtihal wasn’t delivering a political speech, but rather exercising a fundamental human right, defending professional ethics and the conscience of technology.”

“This is the story we should tell about Moroccan women, and this is what we should all take pride in,” he concluded.

Political Messages

Aziz Hanawi, Secretary-General of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalization, stated that engineer Ibtihal Aboussad embodied the true Moroccan stance—one that condemns and rejects, unequivocally, the war crimes and systematic human rights violations committed in Gaza with U.S. support and the backing of companies that support Zionism.

“Aboussad’s position carries a wealth of symbolism. She is a young woman, full of promise, who has secured a job that many young people across the Arab world, and indeed the entire planet, would envy,” he told Al-Estiklal.

“By taking this courageous, resistance-filled stand, she shattered the allure of the American dream, not as a materialistic or selfish pursuit, but in embracing the human cause, with Palestine at its heart.”

“This young woman, who is presumed to have achieved the American dream, has formed the antithesis to the Zionist-American narrative, right from within America itself. Unlike others, her compass remained intact,” he added.

Regarding the lack of response from pro-Israeli Occupation supporters in Morocco, who call themselves “We Are All Israelis,” Hanawi noted that their silence is, in itself, a statement.

“'We Are All Israelis' promotes the Abrahamic accords and false claims of tolerance as a means to embrace Zionism. In contrast, Ibtihal Aboussad’s refined action struck a powerful blow to the normalization narrative in Morocco.”

“They say that Palestine’s supporters in Morocco are nationalists, Islamists, and Arabists, but Aboussad has proven that Moroccans, regardless of their affiliations, stand with Palestine and reject the genocide in Gaza,” according to Hanawi.

“The supporters of the Zionist narrative in Morocco are at odds with the humanity of the Moroccan people. The widespread praise and public support for Aoussad’s stance confirm that the Moroccan people are united in their support for Palestine and its just cause,” he concluded.