Shopify president confronted, again, by anti-Israel protester at tech conference

Harley Finkelstein was confronted by an anti-Israel protester at a tech startup conference in Montreal on Wednesday. It's the second such incident at the annual event. Photo by Wayne Cuddington /Postmedia

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“What happened at @startupfest yesterday was antisemitism. Pure & simple,” says Shopify president Harley Finkelstein.

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Anti-Israel political activist and writer Yves Engler confronted Finkelstein during a session at Montreal’s StartUp festival on Wednesday. The businessman said it was the third time in two years he has been aggressively challenged in public for his support of Israel.

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“Disguised under a thin veil of advocacy, and everyone in the room saw right through it. I was on stage with Georges St-Pierre talking about entrepreneurship. Not politics,” Finkelstein said on X.

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“A man burst in screaming horrible accusations at me anyway … My parents were in the front row. I’ll never forget their faces. When the target is always the Jew and never the topic, it’s not advocacy. It’s hate,” wrote Finklestein. He says Engler was “booed” and the crowd cheered when he was escorted out.

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Finkelstein was in the middle of a conference chat with former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Georges St-Pierre about global ambition, overcoming anxiety and the similarities between entrepreneurship and elite fighting.

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A protester came up to the side of the stage, filmed Finkelstein and asked why he supported the “genocide in Gaza,” reports Betakit, a news site for Canadian technology startups.

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Finklestein is reported as having responded: “Sir, we’re talking about entrepreneurship in Canada, and celebrating an amazing athlete, (Georges St-Pierre), and these amazing entrepreneurs, and you’re embarrassing yourself.”

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In a Wednesday Instagram post, Engler self-identified as the protester who confronted Finkelstein.

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He alleged that Finkelstein “squirmed when questioned about his financial & ideological support for genocidal Jewish supremacy. Former UFC champion George Saint Pierre also looked visibly uncomfortable today when I challenged him to stand up for Palestinians.”

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It’s the third time Finkelstein has had to cope with in-person protests related to his support of Israel, reports Betakit. Other than Tuesday’s incident, that includes a 2024 live podcast with Indigo CEO Heather Reisman and DAVIDsTEA founder David Segal at a previous Startupfest. Protesters also interrupted his remarks at the opening of Finkelstein Chabad Jewish Centre in Ottawa.

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Shopify and Finkelstein have also been targeted by a social media boycott campaign. Finkelstein has been outspoken in his support of Israel and argued in a guest article in National Post that protests target him due to his Jewish identity rather than his politics. Speaking about opening the Finkelstein Chabad Jewish Centre he said protesters started chanting when he began to speak; “They accused me of horrific things happening half a world away. They tried to drown out the celebration and only stopped when I stepped off the stage … What is excused as advocacy now routinely crosses into harassment, disruption and outright antisemitism, playing out openly from places like the Eaton Centre to university campuses across the country.”

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https://twitter.com/harleyf/status/2075197585245995311

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Engler attempted to run for the federal NDP leadership, launching a campaign in late 2025, but the party deemed him ineligible, while alleging that he had harassed and intimidated elected officials. This past March, his NDP membership was terminated.

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