Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO and co-founder of the prominent European tech conference Web Summit, has stepped down from his position following a surge of criticism over his public remarks accusing Israel of “war crimes” and breaches of international law.
According to Al jazeera, Paddy Cosgrave’s, resigned on Saturday after receiving blowback from sponsors and attendees.
He said his personal views had become a “distraction from the event” and apologised for “any hurt” he had caused.
Cosgrave, an Irish entrepreneur who founded Web Summit in 2009, took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to weigh in on Israel’s ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza, which local authorities say has so far killed more than about 4,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and devastated much of the territory’s infrastructure.
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“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,” Cosgrave said in his post on October 13. “War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.”
Two days later, Cosgrave updated his tweet to also condemn Hamas’s October 7 onslaught on Israel, which killed some 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, calling it “outrageous”, “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.”
In a later apology posted on October 17 on the Web Summit blog and shared on his X account, Cosgrave said, “What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that … My aim is and always has been to strive for peace.”
He went on to say, “I also believe that, in defending itself, Israel should adhere to international law and the Geneva Conventions – ie not commit war crimes. This belief applies equally to any state in any war. No country should breach these laws, even if atrocities were committed against it.”
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The follow-up posts were not enough to win over a list of key sponsors and event headliners who announced they would boycott the event, including tech heavyweights Meta, Google, and Stripe.
Web Summit plans to go forward with the November event while hiring a new CEO, it told The Associated Press news agency.