Silicon Valley icons unite in Palantir Davos event to bring hope and support to Israeli hostages

In a powerful assembly, 150 prominent tech and business leaders convened at Palantir's Davos event space on Wednesday, creating a unique platform to address the aftermath of the October 7 attacks in Israel. This meeting, part of a series focused on critical global issues, emphasized the human impact of such incidents and underscored the need for international solidarity.

Many distinguished figures took part in the event, including Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, Nicola Mendelsohn from Meta, and Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron. Influential Israeli investors and entrepreneurs, such as Yossi Vardi and Eyal Waldman, were also in attendance.

A protest in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza held at the Hague last week.

Hosted by Palantir's CEO Alex Karp, the event featured emotional speeches from those directly affected by the violence. Attendees, representing various sectors, were shown footage of abductions and heard heartfelt pleas for action from families of victims and hostages, highlighting the urgency of addressing the human impact on a global scale.

Nili Margalit and Stella Yanai, who returned from Hamas captivity, stressed the urgent need for a deal to bring remaining abductees home. Rachel Goldberg Poland, whose son Hirsch was kidnapped in Gaza, urged influential participants to leverage their connections for an immediate and uncompromising resolution.

Eyal Waldman, founder of Mellanox, sold to Nvidia for about $7 billion in 2019, spoke about the tragic loss of his daughter, Daniel, and her partner, Noam, in the October 7 massacre at the Nova party near Reim, on the border of the Gaza strip. Waldman emphasized the importance for Israel to secure the return of all abductees through negotiations, recognizing the challenges involved in successful discussions. He stressed that, despite the painful price, there is no value that can be placed on the lives of the abductees in Gaza.

Margalit, kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and released from captivity, shared her harrowing experience. She described being taken into an underground tunnel, held for 55 days until her release. Most individuals she was with in the tunnels remain in captivity. As a nurse in a children's emergency room, Margalit emphasized the near-impossible task of trying to help the sick and wounded without medical supplies. In addition to injuries and illness, Margalit explained that there is a shortage of air, food, and basic hygiene in the tunnels, making the body so weak that any disease can be fatal.

Palantir has been extremely active in supporting Israel since the Hamas attack. Last week it announced that it has agreed a strategic partnership with the Israel Ministry of Defense to “supply Palantir technology to help the country’s war effort.” The agreement followed a visit by Palantir executives to Israel, with the company holding its first board meeting of 2024 in Tel Aviv.