Peter Thiel reportedly left a debate at Britain’s Cambridge University on Wednesday after a crowd of anti-Israel supporters refused to let him leave after he was accused of aiding and abetting “genocide” in Gaza. They were reportedly trapped inside the hall for about an hour.
Mr. Thiel, 56, co-founder and chairman of Palantir, a software company whose customers include the Israeli military, gave the keynote speech Wednesday afternoon at an event held at the Cambridge Union, a prominent debate organization.
Thiel, who made his fortune as an early angel investor in Facebook and co-founder of PayPal, reportedly had to arrive three hours before the event to avoid crowds.
During his talk, he was interrupted by at least two students who delivered a monologue accusing him of helping Israel commit “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Photos and videos circulating online show several protesters who disrupted Thiel’s speech being led away from the event.
“Since October 7th, 14,000 children have been murdered in Palestine, and Palantir is complicit in that. Your actions are complicit in the slaughter of thousands of people,” he wrote to X. In a video posted, one protester can be heard telling Thiel:
“Your technology has ensured that hospitals will be bombed,” one protester said.
Mail on Sunday journalist Sabrina Miller posted a video of the crowd outside the venue on the X social media platform.
“Peter Thiel was trapped inside the Cambridge Union. The protesters wouldn’t let him leave,” Miller wrote.
Several demonstrators stationed outside the debate venue waved Palestinian flags and raised their voices.
The students were then escorted out of the venue by security guards. According to the Telegraph.
After the event, Thiel stepped outside and smiled, waved and jeered at the large crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
At one point, Thiel reportedly began taking photos of them.
According to reports, Thiel was unable to leave his home for an hour after protesters blocked his car.
The Post has reached out to Palantir for comment.
Earlier this week, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who co-founded Palantir with Thiel, condemned anti-Israel demonstrators who have been causing chaos on college campuses.
Karp said demonstrators should be deported to North Korea as part of an “exchange program” to give them perspective.
“We’re going to have a Carp-sponsored exchange program,” he said. “A flavorful bark that spent several months in North Korea. See how you feel about it.”
Earlier this year, Karp said his company had lost employees because of its overt support for Israel.
Palantir, a data mining company, provides artificial intelligence models not only to the Israeli military but also to the militaries of other countries.
Karp said he is not concerned about losing employees who oppose his company’s relationship with Israel.
“This is not a small issue. From my perspective, this is not just an Israeli issue,” Karp told CNBC earlier this year.
“Do you believe in the West? Do you think the West created a superior way of life? Are you willing to admit that you believe so?”
