The co-founder of Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave, left the direction of Web Summit this Saturday, following his statements on the Israel-Hamas conflict, which caused a growing number of companies to cancel their participation in the technological event. The news was announced this Saturday by the Sunday Independent and confirmed by himself through his page on the LinkedIn platform.
“Unfortunately, my personal comments became a distraction from the event, from our team, from our sponsors, from our startups and from the people watching,” says the co-founder, quoted by the Sunday Independent.
“I apologize once again for any harm I have caused,” he adds.
The newspaper also states that a Web Summit spokesperson confirmed that a new executive director will be appointed as soon as possible and that the event, in Lisbon, will go ahead as planned.
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.
“I understand that what I said, the timing in which I said it and the way in which it was stated has caused deep pain for many. To anyone who has been hurt by my words, I apologize. What is needed now is compassion, and I did it”. “I cannot convey that. My goal is and always has been to fight for peace. Ultimately, I hope with all my heart that this can be achieved,” wrote Paddy Cosgrave, on the official website of the Summit.
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.”
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.
Source: TSF
