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Saturday, October 21, 2023
Tech summit organizer quits after facing backlash for accusing Israel of war crimes
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LISBON, Portugal — The organizer of the Web Summit, one of the tech sector’s leading events, announced his resignation Saturday following a backlash over his online posts following the Hamas attacks on Israel.
“Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event,” Paddy Cosgrave of Ireland explains in a brief statement sent to AFP.
“I sincerely apologize again for any hurt I have caused,” adds the co-founder of the tech mega gathering created in 2009 in Dublin but held in Lisbon since 2016.
A spokesperson for the organization says: “Web Summit will appoint a new CEO as soon as possible, and Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon will go ahead as planned.”
This year’s edition from November 13 to 16, is set to bring together some 2,300 startups and more than 70,000 participants, say organizers.
Several companies, including tech giants Google and Meta, which is behind Facebook and Instagram, as well as event headliners have announced they are boycotting the gathering since Cosgrave’s remarks.
He had written on X, formerly Twitter, that he was “shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments” in support of Israel.
“War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” he wrote on October 13.
The Times of Israel Community.