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