This Saturday, Amazon joined the growing number of companies that cancel their participation in the Web Summit, following statements by the event’s co-founder, Paddy Cosgrave, regarding the conflict in Israel.
Meta and Google were the first to confirm to Bloomberg that they would not participate in the event, which will take place in Lisbon in November, joining other companies such as Intel and Siemens, and Israeli investors, who decided to boycott the conference. Amazon, in turn, announced today that it will also withdraw from the Web Summit.
On October 13, Paddy Cosgrave wrote a post on the social network
“I am impressed by the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments, with the particular exception of the Government of Ireland, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be be exposed as they are,” noted Paddy Cosgrave.
Later on Tuesday, Cosgrave apologized for his remarks on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, regretting that he had not conveyed “compassion,” and said he hoped peace would be reached.
The position of Cosgrave, of Irish origin, came a day after the Israeli ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, announced that the country had canceled its participation in the Lisbon technology summit due to statements by the co-founder of the Web Summit , which he classified as “outrageous.”
“To reiterate what I said last week: I unreservedly condemn the evil, repugnant and monstrous Hamas attack on October 7” and “I also call for the unconditional release of all hostages. As a father, I deeply sympathize with the families of the victims.” of this terrible act and regret for all the innocent lives lost in this and other wars,” begins Paddy Cosgrave, on the Web Summit blog.
“I unequivocally support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, I unequivocally support a two-state solution,” but “I understand that what I said, the timing in which I said it, and the way in which it was presented caused deep pain to many,” continues the co-founder of what is considered one of the largest technology summits in the world.
“To anyone who has been hurt by my words, I deeply apologize. What is needed now is compassion, and I did not convey it to you. My goal is and always has been to fight for peace” and, “ultimately, I hope be able to do it.” I hope this can be achieved with all my heart,” says Cosgrave.
In his message, he recalls that, “like so many figures around the world,” he also believes “that, when defending itself, Israel must respect international law and the Geneva Conventions, that is, not commit war crimes.”
The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 7 with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen by land, sea and air.
In response, Israel has been bombing several Hamas infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and imposed a siege on the territory, cutting off water, fuel and electricity supplies.
Source: TSF
