Tesla founder Elon Musk is in Israel to meet with the country’s senior leaders, where they will highlight the plight of hostages in war-torn Gaza and discuss rising anti-Semitism online.
Since the start of the current conflict in the Jewish state, which began with Hamas’ barbaric attack on October 7, Musk has faced waves of criticism for turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism on X, formerly known as Twitter. That criticism has led to a reported loss of advertising revenue.
Israeli media reported that Musk will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaa Herzog and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz. The families of some hostages will also be present.
The gatherings come after an eventful weekend in which scores of hostages, including four-year-old American-Israeli orphan Abigail Mor Edan, were freed from the clutches of Hamas.
Avi Scharf, an aviation expert at Israeli newspaper Haaretz, tweeted that the billionaire’s Gulf Stream landed in Tel Aviv around 8 a.m. local time on Monday.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk last met in September, where the Israeli Prime Minister spoke about the prevalence of anti-Semitism on
Four-year-old orphan Abigail Mor Edan was released on Sunday after 49 days in captivity. She celebrated her birthday as a hostage
As part of his trip, Musk will be shown a 44-minute video montage showing the atrocities committed on October 7.
Netanyahu met Musk in California on September 18 and urged him to strike a balance between protecting free speech and combating hate speech after weeks of controversy over anti-Semitic content on X.
Musk responded by saying he opposed anti-Semitism and anything that “promotes hatred and conflict,” repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have increased in the United States and worldwide, including during the now seven-week war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian faction Hamas.
Earlier this month, Musk was accused of promoting anti-Semitism again after responding to a man who posted a screed on X criticizing a campaign video from the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism.
The video shows a father talking to his son about the online hate the son has expressed and calling him out for his rhetoric.
The
“I’m not at all interested in saying even the slightest bit about the fact that the Western Jewish population is coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities who support the flooding of their land don’t particularly like them.
Earlier this month, Musk was roundly criticized for his response to this post on X
“You want the truth told to your face, there it is.”
Musk, who has 163 million followers, responded: “You said the actual truth.”
The father of 11 has a long history of playing with dog-whistle rhetoric about Jewish people, especially George Soros, who angered him in May by selling his Tesla shares.
On Sunday, Abigail Mor Edan’s grandfather, Carmel, said that even though he is filled with joy that his granddaughter is now on her way home, he knows that “there are a lot of people who haven’t come back yet.” Abigail was the first American released during the negotiated ceasefire between Palestine and Israel.
“I really want them to be returned and for the IDF to finish what it promised: all the hostages (back) and Hamas (destroyed),” he said.
The grandfather is not yet allowed to speak to or meet Abigail, but plans to smother her with kisses when they are reunited.
“There’s nothing to say,” he added.
Edan was one of 17 hostages released on Sunday, 49 days after war broke out and militants stormed her kibbutz in southern Israel.
Fighters shot her parents, Roy Edan, 43, and Smadar Edan, 40, during the attack.
Abigail’s first photo since her release: seen in a Red Cross ambulance (right) after being released by Hamas as the first American to be freed
The girl’s siblings, aged ten and six, survived after hiding in the family home for hours. Carmel Edan said he has not yet told them about their younger sister’s release.
Abigail, who celebrated her fourth birthday in captivity, is now in the care of Red Cross officials. President Joe Biden said after her release that what the young person endured was “unthinkable” and that she suffered “terrible trauma.”
“I wish I was there to hold her,” Biden said. “Today she is free, and Jilly and I, along with so many Americans, are praying that she is doing well.”
The grandfather thanked Biden and said: “We love him very much for all the help he gives us to Israel. Keep going. Keep going. We don’t admire you. We love you.’
The terror group has been holding prisoners since the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis. More than 13,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli counter-offensive.
State Department officials have not yet released the names of the other American hostages. A total of ten Americans are currently missing.
Of the seventeen hostages released on Sunday, fourteen were Israelis, while three were foreign nationals.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on ABC’s ‘This Week’ that two women, a child and seven men were confirmed to have been taken by Hamas.
“All of these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal, and this is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them,” Biden said in a speech from Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he was celebrating Thanksgiving.
Earlier that day, the president was briefed several times by his national security team on the latest developments regarding the release of hostages from Gaza.
“This morning I engaged with my team as we began the first difficult days of implementing this deal,” Biden said. “It’s just a start, but so far so good.”
He noted that the first group of hostages included “an elderly woman, a grandmother and mothers with their young children, some under the age of six.”
The sides are currently in a ceasefire with Israel recovering some of the 240 people Hamas took hostage in a cross-border killing spree on October 7. In return, Israel has released a number of Palestinians imprisoned for security reasons.