JLens and ADL Applaud Microsoft Shareholders’ Vote to Reject BDS-Aligned Proposal 9 at Annual Meeting

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registered investment advisor financial

A registered investment advisor is a professional or firm that provides financial advice and manages investments for clients, operating under regulations that require them to act in their clients' best interests. This designation helps investors identify trustworthy advisors who are legally committed to providing transparent and fair guidance, much like a licensed doctor is bound to prioritize patient well-being.

boycott, divestment and sanctions regulatory

Boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) is a coordinated strategy where groups stop buying products, pull investments, or push governments and institutions to impose penalties on a country, company or sector to force political or social change. For investors, BDS can reduce demand, limit access to capital, and raise legal or reputational risks—think of it like customers shutting off a faucet, investors turning off the tap, and regulators closing valves, all of which can shrink revenue and increase uncertainty for affected assets.

notice of exempt solicitation regulatory

A notice of exempt solicitation is a public disclosure that someone is asking shareholders to vote a certain way or sign a consent without using the formal proxy materials normally required by regulators. Think of it like a campaign flyer that must be filed so investors know who is lobbying for a vote and why; it matters because these solicitations can sway shareholder decisions and affect control, strategy, or share value.

12/09/2025 - 01:11 PM

JLens and ADL sound alarm on growing support of anti-Israel campaigns in the corporate arena

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- JLens, a Registered Investment Advisor affiliated with ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), welcomes the vote by Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: MSFT) shareholders AGAINST Proposal 9 at the Company’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. This shareholder resolution, aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (“BDS”) movement, called for conflict-specific human rights due diligence targeting Israel.

Consistent with the Board of Directors’ recommendation, the proposal was opposed by more than 70% of voting shares at Microsoft’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, marking a decisive rejection of a clearly politically-motivated proposal.

However, JLens notes that this anti-Israel proposal had an alarmingly high number of co-filers, with more than 50 shareholders, including religious groups, financial institutions and individuals, and, regrettably, it received support from a major proxy advisory firm.

The proposal also received backing from Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, which JLens research shows has a documented pattern of disproportionately targeting companies with business ties to Israel.

“We are happy to see that Microsoft shareholders saw through this proposal and rejected an anti-Israel campaign masquerading as human-rights oversight,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of ADL. “While we welcome the outcome, the scale of coordination behind this proposal underscores the need for continued vigilance against politicized, BDS efforts in the corporate arena.”

While its proponents framed the proposal as a call for human rights due diligence, JLens and ADL warned this was clearly a single-country, single-conflict political campaign aligned with the BDS movement, designed to pressure companies to disengage from doing business with and in Israel.

“It is clear this proposal had nothing to do with protecting shareholders from risk or maximizing shareholder value, and everything to do with advancing a biased anti-Israel campaign,” said Ari Hoffnung, Managing Director of JLens and Senior Advisor on Corporate Advocacy at ADL. “Shareholders saw through it, but the number of co-filers backing this proposal demonstrates a highly coordinated effort by so-called ‘human rights’ activists to weaponize corporate governance for their own political purposes.”

Timeline

August 26, 2025 - members of “No Azure for Apartheid” breached Building 34 on Microsoft’s Redmond campus and staged a sit-in accusing the Company of “human rights violations” and other politically charged misconduct. Protesters hung banners demanding that Microsoft “cut ties with Israel,” “call for an end to the genocide,” and “pay reparations to Palestinians.”
Oct. 21, 2025 – Proponents submitted Proposal 9, calling for a human rights due diligence report designed to target Israel.
Nov. 6, 2025 – JLens filed a Notice of Exempt Solicitation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, highlighting the proposal’s discriminatory nature and documenting the risks it poses to Microsoft and its shareholders.
Nov. 25, 2025 – Proxy advisor Glass Lewis & Co., LLC recommended shareholders vote AGAINST Proposal 9, consistent with the recommendation from Microsoft’s Board, JLens and ADL.
Nov. 30, 2025 – Proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. recommended shareholders vote for Proposal 9.
Dec. 5, 2025 – Microsoft shareholders voted to reject Proposal 9.

About ADL

ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. More at www.adl.org.

About JLens

Founded in 2012, JLens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Registered Investment Advisor that empowers investors to align their capital with Jewish values and advocates for Jewish communal priorities in the corporate arena. JLens’s Jewish Investor Network is composed of more than 35 Jewish institutions, representing $12 billion in communal capital (as of 9/30/25). In 2022, JLens established an affiliation with ADL (Anti-Defamation League), the leading anti-hate organization in the world. More at www.jlensnetwork.org.