Israel to boycott Europe’s biggest tech conference after founder accuses country of ‘war crimes’

Israel has said it will boycott Europe’s biggest technology conference after the event’s founder accused the country’s government of “war crimes” in its response to Hamas’ attacks.

Dor Shapira, Israel’s ambassador to Portugal, said his country would not participate in the Web Summit conference after its chief executive Paddy Cosgrave suggested Israel had broken international law.

Mr Shapira said “dozens” of tech companies had also pulled out of the event and encouraged more to do so. Web Summit, which attracts more than 70,000 visitors from around the world, is scheduled to take place in Lisbon in a month’s time.

The backlash comes after Mr Cosgrave wrote on Twitter: “I’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing.

“War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.”

Ireland has been accused of failing to fully support Israel, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar telling the country to be “proportionate” in its response.

Mr Cosgrave later added: “What Hamas did is outrageous and disgusting. It is by every measure an act of monstrous evil. Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law.”

Mr Shapira wrote on Monday: “Today, I wrote to the Mayor of Lisbon informing him that Israel will not participate in the Web Summit conference due to the outrageous statements made by the conference CEO, Paddy Cosgrave.

“Even during these difficult times, he is unable to set aside his extreme political views and denounce the Hamas terrorist activities against innocent people.

“Dozens of companies have already cancelled their participation in this conference, and we encourage more to do so. We should have zero tolerance to terrorist and terror acts!”

Mr Cosgrave, a former start-up founder, co-founded the Web Summit conference series in 2009. As well as hosting Europe’s biggest tech conference in Lisbon each November, it also organises annual events in Brazil, Canada and Hong Kong. The group took in €31.8m (£27.5m) in revenue in 2021.

His comments were met by a wave of protest from tech bosses, including speakers who said they would pull out of the Lisbon event in November.

David Marcus, the former chief executive of PayPal and former head of Meta’s Messenger app, who has previously spoken at Web Summit events, wrote: “You chose to support terrorists. As such I’ll never attend/sponsor/speak at any of your events again.”

Adam Singolda, the head of advertising company Taboola, wrote: “I’ll never be part of your future initiatives and we’ll never work together again.”

Ori Goshen, the chief executive of AI company AI21Labs, who formerly served as a cybersecurity expert in the Israeli Defense Force’s elite intelligence unit 8200, said he had pulled out of a keynote speech at the conference.

Criticising Mr Cosgrave’s comments as “abhorrent”, Mr Goshen wrote: “We at AI21 cannot be part of such indecency and moral bankruptcy.”

Assaf Rappaport, the chief executive of cybersecurity company Wiz, has also cancelled plans to speak at the event, according to his co-founder Yinon Costica.

Tech bosses including Meta’s Sir Nick Clegg, Dario Amodei of AI lab Anthropic, and Steven Bartlett, the British entrepreneur who appears on the BBC show Dragons’ Den, are all scheduled to speak at Web Summit in Lisbon next month.

On Monday afternoon, Mr Cosgrave added: “We are devastated to see the terrible killings and the level of innocent civilian casualties in Israel and Gaza.

“We condemn the attacks by Hamas and extend our deepest sympathies to everyone who has lost loved ones. We hope for peaceful reconciliation.”

A Web Summit spokesman said: “We understand that it is an incredibly sensitive and painful time during this utter tragedy of war.

“We want to reiterate our devastation for the loss of innocent life in Israel and Gaza. We strongly condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israelis.

“Web Summit’s mission is to connect people and ideas changing the world from all around the globe. The more voices we have from around the world, the more we can help change the world for the better.

“We are saddened to hear that some Israelis in the tech community will no longer be attending Web Summit. We regret any hurt caused and extend our deepest sympathies to everyone who has lost loved ones. We hope for peaceful reconciliation. “