Collective walkout over inappropriate remarks on Israel-Palestine conflict reveals political correctness red line among Silicon Valley VCs?
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Collective walkout over inappropriate remarks on Israel-Palestine conflict reveals political correctness red line among Silicon Valley VCs?
The attacks forced hundreds of Israeli tech workers to the front lines, prompting Wall Street financiers to publicly criticize the stance on the war taken by academic institutions they support.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Natasha Mascarenhas
Compiled by TechFlow
Prominent venture capitalists, including Garry Tan of Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta, are pulling out of a major gathering for tech leaders after the conference’s CEO, Paddy Cosgrave, made comments seemingly referring to Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Hamas-controlled Gaza as “war crimes.”
At least five speakers have said they will no longer attend the annual Web Summit in Lisbon each November, an event that draws tens of thousands of founders and executives. Among those announcing withdrawals are Ori Goshen, co-founder of AI21—an Israeli company that competes with OpenAI—and Keith Peiris, co-founder of AI startup Tome. The boycott reflects the ongoing impact of the October 7 attacks by the Hamas terrorist group on Israel’s southern border, which have forced hundreds of Israeli tech workers into frontline duty and prompted Wall Street financiers to publicly criticize academic institutions they support over their stance on the war.
Key points:
• Sequoia's Gupta and YC's Tan canceled speaking appearances.
• Venture capitalists question Web Summit's ties to Qatar.
• Web Summit's Cosgrave made tweets about Israel’s retaliation.
On Friday, Cosgrave expressed shock at “the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments” as Israel prepared to launch a ground invasion into Gaza. On X, he wrote: “War crimes committed by allies are still war crimes and should be called out clearly.” He also liked a post on X stating that the terrorist group’s killing of Israelis one week prior was “self-defense,” and claiming Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians. Late Monday, Cosgrave deleted the liked posts.
His remarks quickly drew strong backlash. On Monday, Y Combinator CEO Tan said on X that he had canceled his attendance at Web Summit. Gil Dibner, founder of Angular Ventures, also canceled his talk.
Cosgrave has also faced scrutiny over his company’s ties to Qatar. Counterterrorism experts say Qatar funds Hamas and hosts leaders of the terrorist group, who maintain an office in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Qatari officials insist they only provide humanitarian aid.
Josh Kopelman, a partner at First Round Capital, posted a screenshot of an email from Cosgrave dated September 5 indicating that WebSummit had partnered with Qatar to host a “Web Summit Qatar” in February 2024. According to conference spokespeople, Web Summit first announced the event in April, selecting Doha after receiving bids from multiple cities across the Middle East.
In the email, Cosgrave mentioned Qatar’s interest in supporting a venture fund as a limited partner and proposed introducing First Round partners to Qatari officials. Kopelman declined the offer in the email thread, and according to company representatives, declined further comment.
Keith Rabois, a partner at Founders Fund, said on X that he would refuse to work with anyone who speaks at the Web Summit event in Qatar. Ryan Petersen, CEO and Founders Fund partner at Flexport, was originally scheduled to speak at the Qatar event on Monday morning but has since withdrawn to focus on Flexport’s client relationships after recently resuming the CEO role, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The backlash followed Hamas’ killing of 1,400 Israelis at a music festival and in numerous towns near the Gaza border, as well as the abduction of nearly 200 Israelis and Americans—many of them infants and young children—as hostages. In response, Israel cut off electricity and water to Gaza and launched rocket strikes that have killed more than 2,600 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The venture capitalists’ reactions reflect intense pushback against views blaming Israel for its role in the conflict. Prominent Wall Street financiers, including Bill Ackman of Pershing Square and Ken Griffin of Citadel, have criticized elite universities they fund for failing to condemn student groups that blame Israel for the Hamas attacks.
U.S.-based venture capitalists and startup founders with Palestinian ties have privately expressed concern over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But some say they are afraid to voice these views publicly, fearing their comments could be misinterpreted as supporting Hamas’ attacks, which they strongly condemn. “In what is arguably the most dangerous VC landscape in history, we don’t even dare to touch politically sensitive topics,” said a U.S. healthcare startup founder with family in Palestine.
A Web Summit spokesperson said the conference operator is engaging with several companies regarding their participation in November. “We regret to hear that some members of Israel’s tech community will no longer be attending Web Summit,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding, “We regret any harm caused and extend our deepest sympathies to everyone who has lost loved ones.” (The statement did not mention non-Israeli attendees boycotting the summit.)
“We want to reiterate our sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in both Israel and Gaza. We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas against the people of Israel,” the statement said.
Since Cosgrave co-founded Web Summit in Dublin in 2009, it has become a premier meeting and party hub for global startup leaders. Last year, it attracted 71,000 attendees, with featured speakers including Binance founder and CEO CZ and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.
The organization moved its annual flagship event to Lisbon several years ago and plans to host a conference in Hong Kong. According to a spokesperson, Cosgrave is the majority shareholder of Web Summit, though the conference is governed by a board.
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