Anti-Israel remarks by CEO put Web Summit 2023 in jeopardy as tech giants pull out

Tech heavyweights are boycotting Web Summit, Europe’s biggest technology event, after its CEO criticised Western support of Israel following deadly terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7.

Intel and Siemens Thursday joined a growing list of companies and tech executives saying they won’t attend the event in solidarity with Israel. Intel said in a statement that it was “withdrawing from Web Summit.”

Siemens, which is a German engineering and manufacturing company, also echoed the same stance after having “reviewed the situation.”

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So far, Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, Sequoia Capital’s Ravi Gupta and other prominent venture capitalists have also pulled out of the conference in support of Israel.

Israel boycotts the summit as well

Top leaders from Israel’s massive tech industry, which contributes to one-fifth of the country’s economic output, have also announced a boycott.

Ori Goshen, the co-founder and co-CEO of Tel Aviv-based AI21 Labs, took to LinkedIn to announce that he won’t “give the keynote” at the event because he “cannot be part of such indecency and moral bankruptcy.”

Dor Shapira, the ambassador of Israel to Portugal, wrote to the mayor of Lisbon informing him that Israel will not participate in the event, an update he shared on LinkedIn on Oct 16.

Controversial statement from Web Summit CEO

Nearly a week after the Oct 7 assault by Hamas on Israel, Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave expressed “shock” at the support Israel was getting from the West. He also rapped the West for not denouncing the Jewish nation for its “war crimes.”

However, after he saw his summit being jeopardised, he seemed to be staging a balancing act on Oct 17 when he issued a detailed apology for his statement.

“I understand that what I said, the timing of what I said, and the way it has been presented has caused profound hurt to many. To anyone who was hurt by my words, I apologise deeply,” Cosgrave wrote.

“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that. Web Summit has a long history of partnership with Israel and its tech firms, and I am deeply regretful that those friends were hurt by any of what I said,” his statement read further.

But it seems like damage has already been done.

The summit, a 70,000-person flagship event, will take place in Lisbon next month.

(With inputs from agencies)

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