Israel will boycott the Web Summit. And so will hundreds of startups, companies and investors close to his cause. One sentence was enough. A passage in a tweet. “War crimes are war crimes. Even if they are committed by allies.” The author is Paddy Cosgrave, the founder of the conference. No specific reference to Israel. But the message was already clear. The effect on social media was immediate, thanks to a radical polarization of opinions on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The nation of startups, as Israel has been renamed, which owes 20% of its gross domestic product and 60% of exports to this sector, will not go to the most important conference in the world of startups. The largest dedicated to innovation in Europe. One of the largest tech conferences in the world, capable of bringing 72 thousand people from all over the world to Lisbon every year for 5 years.
The accusation of supporting Hamas. The Web Summit in negotiations with Qatar
But a good part of that world comes from Israel or has Jewish founders, managers, investors. Israel’s weight in this sector is enormous. And it is photographed in the replies to Cosgrave’s post, which call for a boycott of the conference to be held next November in Portugal.
Added to this is an accusation against Cosgrave. His tweet was made from Doha, Qatar, where Web Summit is taking its event for a deal that could be worth tens of millions of dollars. However, Qatar is among the states suspected of financing Hamas. And Cosgrave is accused of having made that tweet to better conclude his own affairs. To demonstrate closeness to the reasons of those who oppose Israel, at a time when a seven-figure agreement is about to be concluded.
The analysis Israel and Hamas polarize social media. And a “cultural war” is already being fought on X by Arcangelo Rociola 10 October 2023
Before his tweet about war crimes, Cosgrave had praised the Irish government for rejecting an attempt to suspend European Union aid to the Palestinians. A clear stance. But which now seems to undermine the very success of a conference that moves on its own 40 million dollars in revenue and at least as many related activities for the entire city of Lisbon.
Israel’s ambassador: “Outrageous statements”
Israel’s ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, announced Monday that his country will no longer participate in the Web Summit conference following Cosgrave’s “outrageous statements.” “Even in these difficult times, he is unable to put aside his extreme political views and denounce Hamas’ terrorist activities against innocent people,” Shapira wrote on X. Shapira said “dozens” of companies have withdraw from the event and encouraged others to do so. But the wave soon spread. It gained strength late yesterday evening.
Middle East Hamas reportedly raised millions in cryptocurrencies before the attack on Israel by Arcangelo Rociola October 16, 2023
Several leading industry companies then said they will cancel their appearances and participation in the upcoming Web Summit conference. Between them, Garry TanCEO of Y Combinator, the most important startup accelerator in the world, the one from which giants such as Airbnb and Stripe emerged. He did the same Ori GoshenOf AI21 Labs; Ravi Gupta, partner di Sequoia, one of the world‘s leading venture capital funds with roots on Wall Street. Then hundreds of startups and larger companies like Tome, Taboola, PayPal.
“We at AI21 cannot be part of such indecency and moral bankruptcy,” wrote Goshen, who was due to give a keynote speech at the conference. But there are hundreds of posts on X that testify to similar states of mind. While the use of hashtags such as #BoycottWebSummit is becoming increasingly widespread, where founders and entrepreneurs announce that they are canceling their presence and invite others to do so.
Cosgrave tries to fix it. But tech in Israel is also at war
Cosgrave tried to make amends with his own tweet. He recalled that he also attacked the Hamas massacre. But Israel is at war. And its technology sector, the flagship of its industry and probably the sector for which Tel Aviv is best known in the world, is not willing to cut corners. Not even if it involves going against the most important event of the most important of its productive assets. An anonymous source tells TechCrunch this well: “Here in Israel, anger is the main state of mind for everyone. We don’t have time to joke with anyone who remotely suggests that Israel should keep quiet and not put an end to Hamas.”
The EU opens an investigation into X for fake news on the war between Hamas and Israel by Bruno Ruffilli 13 October 2023
Meanwhile, the list of investors and partner companies who decide to leave the conference is growing: “I am saddened by your uninformed position. You could have taken a more nuanced position, condemning these atrocities and calling for moderation. That would have been acceptable,” David Marcus, a longtime fintech entrepreneur and Meta executive, wrote in a tweet yesterday. “You chose to support terrorists. This is why I will never attend/sponsor/speak at one of your events again.”
And again: “I will refuse to work with anyone who speaks at this conference in Qatar for the rest of my career”, commented Keith Rabois, partner and entrepreneur of Founders Fund, one of the most important funds in Silicon Valley but with ramifications throughout the world. world. Some consider the reactions exaggerated. But it is a small minority in the thousands of comments present on X in these hours.