ALBAWABA - Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO of Web Summit, resigned on Saturday after several major technology companies withdrew from the upcoming annual tech conference due to his comments on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Cosgrave's resignation comes a little over a week after his tweets condemning the Israeli war in Gaza were posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter. On October 13th, Cosgrave stated, "War crimes are war crimes, even when committed by allies, and must be condemned as such."
Cosgrave also criticized the October 7th attacks carried out by Hamas militants.
Reasons for Resignation
In a statement to CNN, Cosgrave said, "Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, our team, our sponsors, our startups, and the people who attend." He added, "I sincerely apologize once again for any harm caused."
Web Summit, one of the world's largest tech conferences, is held annually. Cosgrave's resignation serves as a prominent example of the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas, which extended into workplaces everywhere.
In the two weeks following Hamas's attack, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,400 people in Israel, Israeli forces carried out continuous airstrikes in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 4,385 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This crisis led to a humanitarian catastrophe in the region.
One day before Cosgrave's post on the platform, Amnesty International stated that the "collective punishment" of civilians in Gaza amounts to a war crime.
Withdrawal of Major Tech Companies
On Tuesday, Cosgrave published a statement of nearly 600 words on the Web Summit blog to apologize and clarify his position. He stated, "I unequivocally condemn Hamas's brutal attack on October 7th, and I also call for the unconditional release of all hostages." He added, "I unreservedly support Israel's right to exist and defend itself, and I firmly support the two-state solution." He continued, "I also believe that, in defending itself, Israel must adhere to international law and the Geneva Conventions; in other words, not commit war crimes." However, his initial comments faced a swift and strong reaction from tech giants, including Alphabet, the parent company of Google, Meta, Siemens, and Amazon, all of which withdrew from the conference. The conference was scheduled to take place from November 13th to 16th in Lisbon.
The company would appoint a new CEO as soon as possible, adding, "Web Summit 2023 will take place in Lisbon as planned." It is worth noting that Cosgrave, at 41 years old, co-founded Web Summit in 2009 with David Kelly and Daire Hickey.
