What Elon Musk is up to in Israel, from a dog-tag gift to eyebrow-raising X Space

Elon Musk, facing criticism for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his social media platform, visited Israel on Monday (November 27).

During his visit, he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas terrorists and held discussions with top leaders, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Kfar Azza kibbutz was targeted by Hamas on October 7 in a deadly assault that marked the beginning of the conflict.

Musk in Israel

• Wearing a protective vest and accompanied by a group of security personnel in the rain, Musk used his phone to capture images or videos of the damage.

• The Tesla CEO and the prime minister visited the homes of some victims, including the family of 4-year-old Abigail Edan, a dual Israeli-US citizen held hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed.

• She was released on Sunday as part of the ongoing exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire, which is set to expire after Monday.

During a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Musk, and families of hostages, Rachel, an Israeli mother, displayed a video on her phone showing her son, Hersh, being abducted by Hamas despite being badly injured.

Malki, another hostage's father, gave Musk a symbolic dog tag engraved with "our hearts are hostage in Gaza."

Musk pledged to wear the dog tag every day until the loved ones are released.

Musk in conversation with Netanyahu on X Spaces

During an online conversation on X with Netanyahu, Musk concurred with the prime mminister's stance that Israel should eliminate Hamas.

"Those who are intent on murder must be neutralised. Then the propaganda must stop," Musk remarked. "They're just training people to be murderers."

He also expressed the need to make Gaza "prosperous."

"If (all) that happens, I think it will be a good future," he added. "I'd love to help."

The conversation was problematic as Musk endorsed a decisive and forceful approach, advocating for the destruction of Hamas without exploring diplomatic or peaceful solutions.

In this X Spaces conversation, Musk also reiterated that scenes of the massacre troubled him, especially videos and photos of civilians, including children, being killed.

Their discussion covered various aspects of the conflict, protests, Hamas, and the broader Middle East.

Musk and anti-Semitism

• Musk has been accused of making various antisemitic remarks in the past.
• Several major brands paused their advertising on X after Elon Musk endorsed a post this month that accused Jewish communities of promoting "hatred against whites."
• This led to a significant financial threat for X, potentially costing tens of millions of dollars.
• The White House criticized Musk for his "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate."

Also Read: Why IBM decided to pull its ads from X

After arriving in Israel on Tuesday, Musk wrote on X, "actions speak louder than words."

X is grappling with a substantial commercial challenge as the controversy intensifies. Even before this recent turmoil, X faced criticism for the prevalence of antisemitic discourse on its platform.

Organisations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Center for Countering Digital Hate reported an increase in hate speech on X over the past year.

Also Read: Why does Elon Musk keep getting accused of being anti-Semitic?

The fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas has temporarily halted following a four-day truce agreement that was recently extended by two more days.

As part of the deal, Hamas released 69 hostages, and Israel freed approximately 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Both sides are expected to continue exchanging hostages as the truce has been extended for an additional two days.