Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The New York Times
Six TED fellows resigned on Wednesday over the organization’s decision to name billionaire Bill Ackman as one of its main speakers at an upcoming conference in Vancouver, Canada.
The fellows resigning are led by astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz and filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky.
In a letter addressed to Lily James Olds, who directs the fellows program, and Chris Anderson, the head of TED, the fellows called Ackman a “genocide apologist” for his comments attempting to justify Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza, which has killed over 25,000 Palestinians.