[Jewish peace activist Tal Frieden shows a photograph of a protest he attended in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on 13 October 2023. © Jessica Le Masurier]
Lisbon (Portugal): Tech heavyweights Meta, Google, Amazon and Stripe, including some sponsors, have boycotted Web Summit merely because its co-founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave called the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza by the far-right Zionist regime in Israel “war crimes” and “breach of international laws”.
Launched for the first time in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly, and Daire Hickey, Web Summit was originally held in Dublin, Ireland until 2016 when it moved permanently to Lisbon, Portugal.
Pained by the sufferings of the Palestinians because of the relentless bombings of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Zionist government in Israel, Cosgrave asked the western world to hold Israel responsible for its “war crimes”.
“I’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and 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”, Cosgrave wrote on social media platform X, originally launched as Twitter, on October 13.
Cosgrave’s post irked top tech giants, sponsors and some attendees who otherwise would make big claims about “human rights” and “freedom of expression”, but accused the Web Summit founder of taking an “ill-informed stance” and decided to stay away from the annual event.
Unperturbed by the boycott gang, Cosgrave updated his post on October 16, 2023 reiterating his stand that the Zionist regime in Israel is guilty of breaching the international laws.
“… 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”, he wrote in a lengthy post.
A day later, Cosgrave said his personal views had become a “distraction from the event” and apologised for “any hurt” he had caused.
“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that. My aim is and always has been to strive for peace”, Cosgrave wrote in a post on October 17 on the Web Summit blog which is also shared on his X account. “I also believe that, in defending itself, Israel should adhere to international law and the Geneva Conventions – i.e. not commit war crimes. This belief applies equally to any state in any war. No country should breach these laws, even if atrocities were committed against it”, he added.
“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that. My aim is and always has been to strive for peace”, Cosgrave wrote in a post on October 17 on the Web Summit blog which is also shared on his X account.
“I also believe that, in defending itself, Israel should adhere to international law and the Geneva Conventions – i.e. not commit war crimes. This belief applies equally to any state in any war. No country should breach these laws, even if atrocities were committed against it”, he added.
Cosgrave’s explanation however did not pacify the tech giants and sponsors who decided to boycott the summit which till recently was dubbed as “world’s largest tech conference”, “best tech conference on earth” and “Olympics of Tech”.
Cosgrave is not alone who is being blackmailed for calling a spade a spade. Three days ago, an Israeli billionaire resigned from Harvard board because the university president “kept silence” as Harvard Student Organisations – more than 30 in numbers – expressed solidarity with the Palestinians facing brutal persecution at the hands of far-right Zionist regime in Israel.
Meanwhile, protests against Netanyahu’s government in Israel are growing day by day with hundreds of thousands of people in different parts of the world – including at White House in Washington DC and Downing Street in London – denouncing the killings of Palestinians in Gaza Strip.
Probably for the first time since Zionists began illegally occupying the Palestinian territories and using one or the other reasons started their persecution, a huge majority of Jews are also participating in these protests, openly speaking out against dehumanisation of Palestinians and declaring “Not in our name” and “Israel does not represent the Jews”.
A day earlier, more than seventy top Hollywood stars expressing their dismay and anguish over the deaths of civilians in Gaza and Israel urged U.S. President Joe Biden to call for immediate ceasefire in the region.
(With inputs from Al Jazeera and news agencies)
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