Colin Sheridan: Paddy Cosgrave's climbdown a lesson in moral reversal

Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave checks the schedule backstage with staffers on the opening night of Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Commercial Court is currently hearing one in a series of suits and countersuits between Cosgrave and two other Web Summit co-founders, Daire Hickey and David Kelly.

In the midst of the unfathomable human tragedy unfolding in the Middle East, the political and commercial ramifications of “picking a side” have quickly evolved from ripple to tidal wave. 

Pro-Israeli business actors in particular have been quick to threaten, or withdraw completely, their financial heft from projects that have either failed to publicly condemn Hamas, or had the temerity to express support for the Palestinian people, an act that many on the Israeli side seem to equate to supporting the militant terrorist group.