Microsoft CEO responds to anti-Israel demonstrations at universities, says Hamas terrorist attacks must be 'condemned in the strongest possible ways'

• Microsoft's CEO said Hamas' terrorist attack must be "condemned in the strongest possible ways."
• Satya Nadella was asked about his thoughts on the war and anti-Israel demonstrations at universities during an interview with Axel Springer.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke out against the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations at American universities during an interview with Axel Springer, Insider's parent company, on Tuesday.

"There was a terrorist attack by Hamas on innocent citizens of Israel, and that has to be condemned in the strongest possible ways," Nadella said during an interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. "Our heart goes out to them and there should be no ambiguity, right? There is no room for violence of that form."

The Microsoft CEO made the comments in response to a question from Döpfner regarding the Palestinian militant group's recent attacks on Israel and the response from students at universities like Harvard, where some student groups placed the blame for the crisis solely on Israel.

"What is your reaction to certain demonstrations in American universities, also here in the middle of Europe and in Berlin, people celebrating Hamas' attack on Israel and slaughtering kids?" Döpfner asked Nadella.

Earlier this month, more than 30 Harvard student organizations released a statement holding the Israeli government "entirely responsible for all unfolding violence." Meanwhile, at Yale, an online petition has been circulating calling for the school to eliminate a professor who appeared to celebrate the Hamas attacks on social media. And similarly, a lecturer at Stanford was suspended after he was accused of singling out Jewish students and calling them "colonizers."

The Microsoft CEO also commented on how businesses should respond to these types of geopolitical issues. Nadella said companies must straddle the line between focusing on their business and bringing value to their shareholders and realizing their impact on the outside world.

"We live in the real world, right?" Nadella said. "We are an American company, but a multinational company. We have a certain set of responsibilities both to the values of the country in which we were born and to the countries we serve and we have to be able to navigate that and also stand up for it."

Nadella spoke with Döpfner in Berlin on Tuesday while receiving the Axel Springer Award, which the company says is given to "outstanding personalities who demonstrate an exceptional talent for innovation, create and transform markets, shape culture, and also face their social responsibility."