Web Summit CEO Quits After Israel Remarks: What's The Controversy

Paddy Cosgrave, founder and Chief Executive of Web Summit, has resigned after his statement on the ongoing Israel-Gaza war sparked a huge controversy. 

Mr Cosgrave, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), had said, "War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.” He was referring to Israel's counterstrikes on Gaza following the Hamas attacks on October 7.

First, what Hamas did is outrageous and disgusting. It is by every measure an act of monstrous evil. Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law.

Second, here's the host of the most watched chat show in… pic.twitter.com/HDdl2MrgfC

— Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) October 15, 2023

Mr Cosgrave's post drew criticism from people on the social media platform. 

Apology

Following this, Paddy Cosgrave issued an apology in a blog post. He said, “Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend. I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused.”

The apology came days after investors and technology companies decided to give the Web Summit a miss. The event is scheduled to take place from November 13 to November 16.

Companies withdraw participation

After Mr Cosgrave's comment, tech giant Google's spokesperson told Bloomberg that the US-based company, which was also one of the event partners, won't attend the Summit. 

Amazon, Meta, Siemens AG and Intel have also announced that they will not attend the Summit.

Tech investor Accel CEO Philippe Botteri has said that he would not attend the Web Summit. In a post on LinkedIn, he said, “I went to the WebSummit many times in the past and was supposed to speak again this November. In light of the comments from the founder, I have no choice but to cancel my participation.”

AI21 Labs' Ori Goshen; Tome's Keith Peiris; Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta; Yinon Costica, co-founder of Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Wiz; and Y Combinator's Garry Tan are some of the executives who have decided to withdraw their participation from the event, reported Reuters.

Philippe Botteri, CEO of tech investor Accel, said in a LinkedIn post on Monday he would no longer speak at Web Summit.