Elon Musk will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and President Isaac Herzog, as the world’s richest man faces growing furor over antisemitic content on his social media platform X.
The Tesla Inc. and SpaceX chief executive is slated to meet the politicians during a trip to Israel on Monday. The visit will include a closed-door discussion with representatives for families of hostages held in Gaza and Herzog about the need to curb online antisemitism, a spokesperson for the president’s office said in a statement.
The billionaire has defended himself from what he labeled “bogus media stories” after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory earlier this month on X, which drew condemnation from the White House and led many major brands to pause advertising on the platform. Critics have accused the service, formerly known as Twitter, of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred.
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Musk’s post came around the same time Media Matters published a report showing ads from companies including IBM Corp. and Apple Inc. next to pro-Nazi content on the social media platform. X has sued the liberal watchdog group for allegedly trying to drive away advertisers.
The Israeli government has been holding talks with Musk over setting up Starlink, which provides satellite-based internet, to back up its wartime communications. Musk last month angered Israeli officials by saying he could provide Starlink to aid organizations in the Gaza Strip. He later walked back the comment.
It’s unclear whether Musk intends to raise other issues while in Israel, which is waging war against Hamas after militants killed about 1,200 people and took some 240 hostages in an Oct. 7 attack. The fighting has paused during a temporary ceasefire that began on Friday to allow the release of hostages in exchange for Israeli-held prisoners.
While Musk has drawn support from notable figures including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, criticism of the famously outspoken billionaire shows little sign of dying down. UK premier Rishi Sunak in a Bloomberg TV interview on Sunday became the latest to speak out against Musk, in careful criticism that stopped short of the full-throated condemnation by US President Joe Biden.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, attended a march against antisemitism in central London. The Israel-Hamas conflict has exacerbated community tensions and led to a spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric on social media.
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(Updates with Netanyahu meeting from first paragraph.)