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Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

theguardian.com

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Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#631

Post by nailer »

basilgohar wrote: post #575
nailer wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No. You're just factually wrong. This is a made-up statement with no truth to it. Arab colonisation of the middle east and north africa is documented history. > Arab Jews were living peacefully side by side in Palestine before the European Zionist colonizers started coming in the 19th and 20th centuries. You can look up historical incidences of Arab violence against Jews at any time you like. Palestine was partitio…

It's interesting how you have to go back about 1,000 years in order to try to make your false equivalency. At no point in the plan for the partitioning of the Arab world was the safety or peace of peoples living there a consideration whatsoever. It was a convenient way to get the Jews out of Europe for the antisemites that lived there and to give the West a vassal colony to continue to serve its imperial purposes in…

Arab colonisation being many years ago doesn’t mean it didn’t happen and doesn’t make arabs native. Here’s the Hamas leader talking about how they’re Arabs: https://x.com/eyakoby/status/1971056308939092028

> any chance at deviation from that plan has been met with violence of an unsurpassed level

Really? I thought it was because Arab leaders keep trying to destroy Israel. I think I got that impression from Arab leaders continuously saying they were going to destroy Israel, and 'the Jews' in the time between the writing of the Koran and the creation of the modern state (also still 'the jews' if you listen to Arab media).

Syria used to be Christian. Lebanon had a significant Christian population. Egypt was Egyptian and Iran was Zoroastrian. All fell after arab colonisation.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#632

Post by cm2187 »

mikestew wrote: post #346
snickerdoodle14 wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

america sounds like such a hell-hole that would be a nice compensation package in any first world country

You’re going to base an opinion on a third-hand story? That might not even be true just to illustrate a point? I know a guy that passed BillG in a hallway and said, “hey, Bill, how’s it hangin’?” (Saw him do it; I was mortified.) Just a bottom-tier IC at the time. 20 years later, he still works there. Still an IC, though, so make of it what you will. :-) So there, now you have another folksy anecdote to balance thing…

Well, not quite third-hand, the guy was working in my team. But not a US company, not in the US either though.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#633

Post by EchoReflection »

"Microsoft condones Hamas attack on Oct 7th."

"Microsoft changes company slogan to 'Allah Akbar Surveillance for the Future of Glorious Jihad"

"Microsoft Pledges Billions of Dollars to Help Hamas Rebuild Tunnels That Were Used to Invade Israel".

I wonder how the Jewish employees at Micro$oft don't quit en masse...I guess people need income/have families to think about, but still... Preventing Israel from using MS tech to protect itself from terrorist attacks is pretty disgusting. Highly recommend Douglas Murray's (extremely disturbing and sad) book "On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Western Civilization" (warning: includes horrific accounts of extreme violence against Israeli civilians)

https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/on-democraci...

https://www.audible.com/pd/On-Democracies-and-Death-Cults-Au...

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#634

Post by dotancohen »

DaveExeter wrote: post #561
dotancohen wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It is obvious that Israel is committing genocide. They don't even try to hide it! Indeed they revel in their cruelty. [1] This historian[2] argues that openly committing genocide is a feature, not a bug, because it will lead to anti-semitism that will make diaspora Jews feel unsafe and bind them to Israel. [1] https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/snapins-... [2] https://youtu.be/sS9xidsyxXY?t=330

There is no doubt that people are suffering. But trying to pin that on Israel is only prolonging their suffering.

Let me ask you, who benefits from Palestinians dying? Or did you think that Hamas care about the Palestinian people. They do not - they care only about the Palestinian state.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#635

Post by Joeboy »

flyinglizard wrote: post #583
Joeboy wrote: post #503

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're probably propagandizing rather than trying to engage coherently with the conversation, but perhaps I'm missing something.

I was directly referring to your closing line saying ”It’s not Jews vs. Palestine, it’s Israel vs. Palestine!”. Given that about half of Israelis are Arab in origin, and about a fifth are proper Muslims, the objection of Palestinians is not to Israelis but to Jews. The video I linked demonstrates the common mode of thought in that part of the world.

You linked audio of a phone call from a Hamas terrorist, as evidence that "Palestinians don't discern Jews and Israelis". I hope you can see the irony there.

There's also, I think, an irony that antisemites and Zionists are united in their their efforts to conflate Jewishness with the actions of the Israeli state. I think it's a welcome development that Parker / Stone / Sheila Broflovski aren't going along with it.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#636

Post by greenie_beans »

bArray wrote: post #97

The issue that people have with Israel's actions is the death of civilians, not the death of Hamas, the widely recognised terrorist. I believe it also to be true that the IDF do not want to kill civilians, and that their target is only Hamas. In which case, is it prudent to remove the IDF's ability to successfully target the correct people? Precise military intelligence is absolutely necessary for minimising civilian…

hasn't the death toll surpassed the number of hamas members?

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#637

Post by LightBug1 »

dotancohen wrote: post #307
LightBug1 wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting away from the debate around your details (most of which didn't happen) ... A singular terrorist event is not the same as an multi-decade occupation, on-going theft of land, discrimination, annexation plans, and - not least - a 2 year long genocide of tens of thousands of civilians. So, no, that isn't what Hamas did.

This has not been a single terrorist event. Hamas has been shooting rockets at us for almost two decades before the October 7th attacks. They are still shooting rockets at us, some have fallen yesterday and today. And I'm not even talking about the rockets shot at us from other Muslim nations, such as Yemen, that just proves that this is a Muslim against Jewish war and not an Israel against Hamas war. 19 Israelis wer…

You've relayed one side of the story. I'm aware of the other side.

Taking both together, nothing you've said justifies what has taken place over the last 2 years.

And your comment on annexation as an end to occupation was truly bizarre, but ... unsurprising at this stage.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#638

Post by hashim »

evolve2k wrote: post #135
politelemon wrote: post #93

I am seeing several kneejerk "Microsoft bad" reactions here, which HNers don't do for many other companies. I encourage many of you to read what is written. They listened to their internal staff and stakeholders and public pressure, and did terminated the contract instead of ignoring it or doubling down. That is a good thing.

Yes it’s a good thing AND we don’t need to be celebrating companies when they finally do the bare minimum . Nobody with any semblance of ethical, just or just plain being a basic good corporate citizen would say.. oh yeah mass surveillance of the comms of a whole population for money is in any way acceptable or ok. This shouldn’t be a tech side note this should be a total meltdown front page scandal. What a disgustin…

I disagree that we shouldn't give them their props when companies finally give in, because most are still not doing that (see Project Nimbus). The problem here is that we don't even know they have done the bare minimum yet, since this is only one contract and to my knowledge they have several, including still actively working with the IDF.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#639

Post by Joeboy »

catigula wrote: post #604
Joeboy wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps we'll have to agree to differ, but I think American Jews being like "not in my name" sends a more politically effective message than "what are you talking about, psycho murderer?". tbf I'm not primarily interested in what's a good look.

I think we're stuck and have to agree to disagree but the message sent is at least indistinguishable from the message of a self-interested sociopathic community with no moral concerns beyond their own. When I do things I at least try to make it discernible from psychopathy.

I don't really want to get into the A word thing, but your position makes more sense to me from a perspective of being anti-Jewish, rather than pro-Palestinian. From the latter perspective, I think it's better to challenge Israel's narratives than embolden them.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#640

Post by myth_drannon »

dunekid wrote: post #618
myth_drannon wrote: post #215

I guess time to buy more Oracle or Google stocks? They can easily provide more than needed, especially Oracle which is very friendly to Israel and Ellison is a big supporter of IDF (large donations to "Friends of the IDF" non-profit). Here is a link in case anyone wants to donate https://www.fidf.org to this amazing organization.

Wow nice, I wish i could donate, but US Taxpayers already cover for me. What do the donors get? Like souvenirs? Funding Genocidal ITF to kill more children and bomb more hospitals has to have its perks.

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