Israeli tech founder banned from hackathon competition, sponsors withdraw support

The hackathon event, which is slated to be held on Oct. 6, tasks participants with building an artificial intelligence (AI) agent that can “produce work a human banker or analyst would trust.”

By Corey Walker, The Algemeiner

An Israeli startup founder has been denied access to a prestigious hacking competition in San Francisco, igniting debate over antisemitism and discrimination imposed upon Israeli Jews amid conflict in the Middle East.

Adam Levi, founder of artificial intelligence startup Stealth, revealed that organizers of the “Build Your Agentic Investment Bank – Hackathon” competition rescinded his invitation to the program after learning about his Israeli identity.

Levi posted a screenshot of a message exchange with event organizer Mostapha Benhenda, in which Benhenda mocked his identity and claimed that he represented a safety threat to the other participants.

“Hackathon participants carry pagers, smartphones, and laptops, and we don’t want the IGF [Israel Genocide Forces, a critical term used to refer to the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF] to make these electronic devices explode in their face and injure them,” Benhenda wrote, referring to the Israeli operation in 2024 against the Hezbollah terrorist group, in which Israel detonated over 3,000 pagers laced with explosives in Lebanon.

“What happened in Lebanon shouldn’t happen in California. The safety of our community comes first,” Benhenda wrote. “A lot of Lebanese and Palestinian citizens are participating in the hackathon, and we take their security very seriously.”

Turns out shabat dinners is the only place we can get accepted to in sf pic.twitter.com/aHnNXtvD6u

— Adam Levi (@realAdamLevi) September 29, 2026

The hackathon event, which is slated to be held on Oct. 6, tasks participants with building an artificial intelligence (AI) agent that can “produce work a human banker or analyst would trust.”

The event purports to have been sponsored by San Francisco Tech Week and Andreesen Horowitz.

In exclusive comments to The Algemeiner, Levi said that he has experienced both “a wave of hate” and “an incredible amount of support” in US tech circles as an Israeli founder.

Though he explained that most Jews in the California tech ecosystem experience the bulk of antisemitism outside of the tech scene, he has experienced “extreme” isolated incidents of anti-Jewish hatred.

“A researcher from one of the top AI labs told us straight to our faces that he supports Hamas,” Levi told The Algemeiner.

The entrepreneur added that he has not interacted with the hackathon organizers after publicly posting the text exchange.

However, Benhenda reacted to Levi’s social media posts, reaffirming his decision to ban him from the competition.

“Adam, you still served in Unit 8200 during the explosive pager attack in Lebanon. There’s no way to know you weren’t involved, since your activities are classified,” he posted, referring to an Israeli unit that deals with cyber warfare and signals intelligence.

Adam, you still served in Unit 8200 during the explosive pager attack in Lebanon.
There’s no way to know you weren’t involved, since your activities are classified. https://t.co/faWeqCkYme pic.twitter.com/UPMCremFA7

— Mostapha Benhenda (@Mostaphabenh) September 30, 2026

“The US army and CIA won’t carry attacks on their own soil. That’s why Adam Levi is welcome at our events in Tel Aviv at Azrieli Center, just across the street from the IGF Headquarters ‘HaKirya.’ No security risk at this location,” he continued.

However, Levi has been notified that the sponsors have pulled their financial support for the event, which is still scheduled to take place as of this writing.

“Investors from A16Z [Andreesen Horowitz] reached out to me directly and told me they removed their sponsorship,” he told The Algemeiner.

Levi has not decided whether he will proceed with a lawsuit. However, he confirmed that he received “a lot of inbound from lawyers and law firms about actions I could take.”

Despite facing discrimination over his nationality, Levi said that he remains undeterred and that he plans on still participating in San Francisco Tech Week.

“For now, I’m focused on building,” he said. “I land in [San Francisco] this Friday for tech week, and that’s where my energy is. What happened is exactly why I build.”