Paddy Cosgrave, the founder and chief executive of Europe’s largest annual technology conference, the Web Summit, resigned on Saturday to quell controversy over his comments on the Israel-Hamas war.
His resignation came after several major companies pulled out of this year’s event, which was scheduled to take place in Lisbon from November 13 to 16.
Cosgrave, an Irish entrepreneur and co-founder of Web Summit in 2009, faced intense backlash for criticizing Western support for Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas that killed 1,400 people.
“War crimes are war crimes, even when committed by allies,” Cosgrave said wrote on social media on Oct. 13, referring to Israel’s ongoing airstrikes and blockade of Gaza, which the United Nations has warned could lead to mass starvation of the 2.3 million people living there. Cosgrave later followed up with a message condemning the Hamas attack.
Facing growing criticism from leading technology experts and investors, Cosgrave released a statement on the Web Summit blog on Tuesday apologizing and clarifying his position.
“I unreservedly condemn Hamas’s evil, heinous and monstrous attack on October 7th. I also demand the unconditional release of all hostages,” he wrote. “I unreservedly support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself… I also believe that in its defense Israel should abide by international law and the Geneva Conventions – that is, not commit war crimes.”
The apology wasn’t enough to sway a list of major sponsors and headliners who announced they would boycott the Web Summit, including tech heavyweights Meta, Google, Intel, Siemens and Amazon.
“Unfortunately, my personal comments created a distraction from the event and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people in attendance,” Cosgrave said in a statement to CNN. “I once again sincerely apologize for the harm I have caused.”