The founder of tech conference Web Summit has said he is “not going to relent” over comments he made about Israel after dozens of investors threatened to withdraw from next month’s conference in Lisbon.
Paddy Cosgrave, who founded Web Summit in 2009, last week expressed his “shock” over Western support for Israeli intervention in Gaza, which he suggested amounted to a war crime.
“War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies and should be called out for what they are,” Cosgrave said. He also liked a number of social media posts comparing Israel action in Gaza to a genocide.
Cosgrave’s remarks were condemned by dozens of tech investors, who threatened to pull out from Web Summit’s November conference, while Israel’s ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, called the comments “outrageous” and urged more companies to withdraw.
“Even during these difficult times, he is unable to set aside his extreme political views and denounce the Hamas terrorist activities against innocent people,” he said.
“We should have zero tolerance to terrorist and terror acts.”
At least nine investors had already cancelled attendance at the event, Cosgrave confirmed.
But Cosgrave today doubled down on his remarks, blasting that there had been “extreme over reaction” by investors and that he was “proud” of what he “repeatedly stated.”
“Trying to cancel a truly global gathering that has always stood for peace and prosperity is not just naive, it’s counter productive,” he said on social media site X, adding that he was introducing new speakers to the conference to discuss “international human rights law and peace.”
Cosgrave said the number of cancellations to Web Summit had been outpaced by the number of new registrations.
