Inappropriate remarks on the Israel-Palestine conflict trigger a collective walkout, is the political correctness red line of Silicon Valley VCs beginning to emerge?

Original Author: Natasha Mascarenhas

Original Title: 《Sequoia Capital Partner, Other Investors Boycott Web Summit Following CEO's Israel Comments》

Translation: 深潮 TechFlow

Prominent venture capitalists, including Y Combinator's Garry Tan and Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta, are withdrawing from the major gathering of tech leaders after the event's CEO, Paddy Cosgrave, made comments that appeared to label Israel's retaliatory strikes in Hamas-controlled Gaza as "war crimes."

At least five speakers have stated they will no longer attend the Web Summit, which takes place in Lisbon every November and attracts tens of thousands of founders and executives. Those who announced their withdrawal include Ori Goshen, co-founder of AI21 (an Israeli company competing with OpenAI), and Keith Peiris, co-founder of the AI startup Tome. This boycott reflects the ongoing impact of the October 7 attacks by the Hamas terrorist organization in southern Israel, which forced hundreds of Israeli tech workers to the front lines and prompted Wall Street financiers to publicly criticize the academic institutions they support for their stance on the war.

Key Points:

• Gupta from Sequoia and Tan from YC canceled their speaking engagements.

• Venture capitalists questioned Web Summit's ties to Qatar.

• Cosgrave from Web Summit had previously made comments on Twitter regarding Israel's retaliatory actions.

On Friday, Cosgrave expressed shock at "the words and actions of so many Western leaders and governments" as Israel prepared to launch a ground invasion of Gaza. He wrote on X: "Even war crimes committed by allies are war crimes and should be clearly stated." He also liked a post on X that referred to the terrorist organization's killing of Israelis a week prior as "self-defense," claiming that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians. Later on Monday, Cosgrave deleted the post he had liked.

His remarks quickly drew strong backlash. On Monday, Y Combinator CEO Tan announced on X that he was canceling his attendance at Web Summit. Gil Dibner, founder of Angular Ventures, also canceled his speaking engagement.

Cosgrave has also faced scrutiny over his company's association with Qatar. Counterterrorism experts have stated that it also funds Hamas and hosts leaders of the terrorist organization, which has an office in the Qatari capital, Doha. Qatari officials insist that 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 Web Summit had partnered with Qatar for the "Web Summit Qatar" event scheduled for February 2024. According to a spokesperson for the conference, Web Summit first announced the event in April, having chosen Doha after receiving bids from multiple cities in the Middle East.

In the email, Cosgrave mentioned that Qatar was interested in supporting venture funds as a limited partner and proposed to introduce First Round's partners to Qatari officials. Kopelman declined the proposal in the posted email and, according to a company representative, did not comment further.

Keith Rabois, a partner at Founders Fund, stated on X that he would refuse to work with anyone speaking at the Web Summit event in Qatar. According to a source familiar with the matter, Ryan Petersen, CEO and founder of Flexport, was originally scheduled to speak at the Qatar event on Monday morning but has since withdrawn to focus on Flexport's client relationships since resuming his role as CEO.

The backlash followed Hamas's killing of 1,400 Israelis at a music festival and in numerous towns near the Israel-Gaza border. Hamas also took nearly 200 Israelis and Americans hostage, including infants and toddlers. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, in response, Israel cut off electricity and water to Gaza and launched rocket attacks, resulting in the deaths of over 2,600 Palestinians.

The reactions from venture capitalists reflect a fierce response to the narrative blaming Israel for its role in the conflict. Prominent Wall Street financiers, including Bill Ackman of Pershing Capital and Ken Griffin of Citadel, criticized the elite universities they fund for not condemning student groups that accuse Israel of perpetrating Hamas attacks.

American venture capitalists and startup founders with ties to Palestine have privately expressed concerns about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. However, some have stated they are reluctant to voice these views publicly for fear that their comments will be misinterpreted as support for Hamas's attacks, which they strongly condemn. "In one of the most dangerous venture capital markets in history, we don't even dare to risk discussing politically sensitive topics," said a founder of a healthcare startup with family in Palestine.

A spokesperson for Web Summit stated that the conference organizers are in discussions with several companies regarding their attendance in November. The spokesperson said in a statement, "We are saddened to hear that some Israelis in the tech community will no longer attend Web Summit" and expressed "our deepest sympathies to everyone who has lost loved ones." (The statement did not mention the boycott of the summit by non-Israelis.)

"We want to reiterate our sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in Israel and Gaza. We strongly condemn Hamas's terrorist attacks against Israelis," the statement said.

Since Cosgrave co-founded Web Summit in Dublin in 2009, it has become a gathering place for global startup leaders. Last year, it attracted 71,000 attendees, with speakers including Binance founder and CEO CZ and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.

The organization moved its annual event to Lisbon a few years ago and plans to hold a conference in Hong Kong. According to a spokesperson, Cosgrave is the main shareholder of Web Summit, but the event is managed by a board.