Elon Musk will meet with Israel’s president after backlash over antisemitic post

This particular kibbutz was where Abigail Edan, a four-year-old American dual citizen who was kidnapped by the militant group, resided. She was eventually released on Sunday.

During a live online conversation on X with Netanyahu on Monday, Musk responded the prime minister's stance that Hamas should be eliminated by Israel. Musk said that, Those who have the intention of committing murder need to be dealt with. This propaganda needs to cease as they are training individuals to become murderers.

Furthermore, Musk emphasized the importance of making Gaza a prosperous place. He expressed his willingness to contribute to this goal, saying, If (all) that happens, I think it will be a good future,” he added. “I would love to help.. 

According to the president's office, Musk is scheduled to have a private meeting with Herzog on Monday afternoon. During their meeting, the president will emphasize the importance of combating online antisemitism. The president's office also stated that representatives of the families of hostages held by Hamas are expected to participate in the meeting. They will share the details of the Hamas terror attack and the ongoing pain and uncertainty experienced by those held captive.

When contacted for comment, Musk did not immediately respond through X or his other prominent companies, Tesla and SpaceX. It is worth noting that both X and Tesla no longer have regular communications with the media. This change followed Musk's takeover of the social platform last year and Tesla's decision to disband its public relations team in 2020.

Furthermore, Netanyahu and Musk toured the destroyed kibbutz on Monday. Israeli government officials informed Musk about what had transpired during the visit, according to the Israeli government press office. 

After meeting with the prime minister, Musk accompanied him to the Edan family residence to hear the heart-wrenching story of Abigail Edan. At just four years old, she tragically lost her parents and was abducted to Gaza, only to be released from Hamas captivity the day before.

This visit to Israel by the billionaire comes after he faced criticism and backlash for agreeing with a statement suggesting that Jewish communities promote hatred towards white people. This led to a strong rebuke from the White House and caused many advertisers to withdraw their support from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Earlier this month, a post on X accused Jewish communities of promoting the same kind of hate speech against whites that they condemn. The post also perpetuated the conspiracy theory of "hordes of minorities" infiltrating Western countries, which is known to be anti-Semitic.

Musk's response to this post was controversial as he affirmed its accuracy by saying, "You have said the actual truth." 

Online hate groups have propagated a conspiracy theory suggesting that Jews are orchestrating the influx of undocumented minority populations into Western countries in order to diminish the White majorities in those nations. Musk, in subsequent posts, clarified that he did not agree with the notion that hatred towards White people extends to all Jewish communities. However, he criticized the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization dedicated to combating antisemitism globally, for unfairly targeting the majority in the West despite their support for Jewish people and Israel. 

Musk said that this was because, according to their principles, the ADL is unable to criticize the minority groups that pose a primary threat. These comments were strongly condemned by human rights groups and politicians amidst a rise in hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims in the United States. Musk has since refuted the accusations of racism, asserting that they are completely baseless.