Peter Thiel was reportedly trapped inside a debate hall at Cambridge University in the UK on Wednesday as a crowd of anti-Israel supporters refused to let him leave for about an hour after he was accused of facilitating “genocide” in Gaza.
Thiel, the 56-year-old co-founder and chairman of Palantir, a software company that counts among its clients the Israeli military, was a keynote speaker at an event held at Cambridge Union, the famed debating society, on Wednesday afternoon.
According to reports, Thiel, who made his fortune as an early angel investor in Facebook and co-founder of PayPal, had to arrive three hours before the event in order to avoid the large crowd.
During his talk, he was interrupted by at least two students who gave monologues accusing him of helping Israel commit “genocide” against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Photos and videos circulating online show several of the demonstrators being escorted out of the event after they disrupted Thiel’s talk.
“Since October 7th, 14,000 children in Palestine have been murdered, and Palantir is complicit in that. Your actions are complicit in the genocide of thousands of people,”one protester could be heard telling Thiel in a video that was posted on X.
“Your technology is ensuring that hospitals are being bombed,” the protester said.
Sabrina Miller, a journalist for the Mail on Sunday, posted video on the X social media platform showing the crowd outside the venue.
“Peter Thiel trapped inside Cambridge Union. Protesters not letting him leave,” Miller wrote.
Several of the demonstrators camped outside of the debate hall waved Palestinian flags and chanted.
The students were later escorted out of the event by security, according to The Telegraph.
After the event, Thiel went outside and taunted the large crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators by smiling and waving at them.
At one point, Thiel reportedly started snapping photos of them.
Thiel was prevented from leaving for an hour as demonstrators blocked his vehicle, according to reports.
The Post has sought comment from Palantir.
Earlier this week, Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir who co-founded the company alongside Thiel, blasted anti-Israel protesters who have caused chaos on college campuses.
Karp said that the protesters should be deported to North Korea as part of an “exchange program” to give them perspective.
“We’re gonna do an exchange program sponsored by Karp,” he said. “A couple months in North Korea, nice-tasting flavored bark. See how you feel about that.”
Earlier this year, Karp said that his company has lost employees due to its overt support for Israel.
Palantir, the data-mining company, provides the Israeli military as well as that of other countries with artificial intelligence models.
Karp said that he didn’t mind losing employees who objected to his company’s ties to Israel.
“This is not a small issue. From my perspective it’s not just about Israel,” Karp told CNBC earlier this year.
“Do you believe in the West? Do you believe that the West has created a superior way of living. Are you willing to admit you believe that?”
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