Paddy Cosgrave walked back criticism of Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in Gaza after several Silicon Valley executives threatened to boycott Web Summit tech conferences, including one in Portugal next month. The firm runs some of the world’s biggest tech conferences, including Collision, which is slated to run in Toronto for the fourth time next June. (The Logic)

Talking point: Cosgrave drew backlash last week for posting on X that he was “shocked” by Western leaders’ and governments’ rhetoric surrounding Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. “War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” he wrote. The post triggered a #CancelWebSummit campaign and denouncements from some would-be attendees of upcoming events, including from YCombinator CEO Garry Tan and Sequoia partner Ravi Gupta. Keith Rabois, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and executive said he would “refuse to work with anyone who speaks at [Web Summit’s] conference in Qatar for the rest of my career.”