After receiving widespread criticism for comments he made in which he accused Israel of war crimes and breaking international law, the CEO of a major technology conference resigned from his position.
Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave resigned on Saturday, October 21, after receiving backlash from the event's sponsors and participants over his controversial remarks. He acknowledged that sharing his opinions had taken attention away from the situation and expressed regret for any offense he may have caused, according to Fortune.
Web Summit CEO on Israel-Hamas Conflict
Irish entrepreneur and founder of Web Summit, Cosgrave, recently used X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts on Israel's ongoing bombing push in Gaza. The bombings reportedly killed over 4,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and destroyed much of the territory's infrastructure.
"I'm shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland's government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are," Cosgrave wrote in a post on October 13.
Three days later, Cosgrave posted another tweet to also criticize Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. He called it "outrageous and disgusting" and "an act of monstrous evil."
He added, "Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law."
I’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.
— Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) October 13, 2023
Cosgrave subsequently issued an apology on the Web Summit blog on October 17 and reposted it on his X account. He stated that Israel, even in self-defense, should not violate international law or the Geneva Conventions.
This view is universal and is valid for every nation in any conflict, he said. Even if a nation suffers atrocities, it has no right to violate these norms.
A number of prominent attendees and sponsors, including Meta and Google, declared they would not be attending the event despite a flurry of follow-up posts.
Web Summit has informed the AP News that it intends to hire a new CEO before its next November event.
Viewpoints That Draw Criticism
Many students and professionals, including Cosgrave, have recently experienced backlash as a result of their public stances on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
More than a dozen corporate leaders have said in recent weeks that they would not do business with any Harvard students affiliated with organizations that signed a letter blaming Israel for the current outbreak of violence.
Though several journalists have lost their jobs after making online comments supporting the Palestinian cause or condemning Israel, others have been disciplined for similar reasons, according to Aljazeera.
Advocates for human rights also claim that many businesses' responses have downplayed the situation in Gaza and made it unsafe for employees to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
