Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who is accused by civil rights groups of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his X social media platform (formerly Twitter), will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Monday as part of damage control efforts. During the meeting with Herzog and the families of hostages held by Hamas, “Musk will highlight the need to act against rising anti-Semitism online,” Herzog’s office said in a statement.
The visit comes amid a four-day truce period in the Israel-Hamas conflict that has primarily been taking place in Gaza since Oct. 7. Herzog’s office also said the meeting would focus on “the need to combat extremism in general.”
Musk, who is the chairman of X and founder and chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX, has come under intense scrutiny for what critics say has been an increase in hate speech and conspiracy theories on his platforms. The billionaire has been in a public war with the Anti-Defamation League over claims that he promoted anti-Semitic tweets by X users. Musk has argued that his company does not tolerate anti-Semitism and threatens to suspend anyone who calls for genocide of any group.
However, some critics have called for a boycott of the tech giant over Musk’s actions and have launched a petition calling on companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook to drop their ads with the company. Others have urged that Musk step down as CEO of X.
Musk has defended his policies and said preventing people from posting offensive content is difficult. He has promised to hire more workers to monitor X’s platforms. The company, which has over a million active users, says it does not tolerate hate speech and aims to “keep X safe for everyone,” including minors and people who are ill or disabled.
According to Israel Radio, Musk is expected to promote the Israeli government’s plan to expand high-speed internet access to rural areas of the country during his meeting with Netanyahu. The plan aims to connect more than 400,000 people lacking broadband internet access infrastructure.
According to a report in The Washington Post, a source in the prime minister’s office confirmed the visit, which was arranged at Musk’s suggestion. The source said the visit would likely be brief and would follow several phone conversations between the two men in recent weeks. The Israeli leader is due to leave on an overnight flight to the United States on Monday, where he will meet with President Joe Biden and make a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York next week. Spokespeople for both Tesla and X, formerly known as Twitter, did not immediately respond to requests for comment through their corporate offices. The trip to Silicon Valley, where Netanyahu has been trying to bolster relations with high-tech executives, is rare for an Israeli leader.
