Elon Musk is in Israel, where he is meeting with several high-level leaders to discuss the country's ongoing war against Hamas.
The billionaire met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, touring a kibbutz that was attacked by the terrorist group on Oct. 7 and prompted Israel to declare war. He is also scheduled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Israel's cabinet minister, and representatives of some of the hostages who are still being held by Hamas.
Jewish Americans feel targeted amid antisemitism, Israel-Hamas war
According to the Anti-Defamation League, reports of antisemitic acts in the U.S. have quadrupled since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out.
"It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre, or one of the scenes of the massacres," Musk told Netanyahu in an X Spaces conversation, "as well as to see the short film afterwards that showed more innocent people getting killed. It was troubling in that movie, especially, to see the joy experienced by the people that were killing innocent civilians, including kids, babies, and defenseless people ... It's one thing obviously if civilians die accidentally. But it's another thing revel in the joy of killing civilians."
The two continued to speak broadly about the Israel-Hamas war, as well the protests stemming from it, but the two did not publicly touch on antisemitism online. Several major companies have pulled advertisements from Musk's X — formerly Twitter — following a report that said ads from the companies had appeared next to content that touted Adolf Hitler and Nazis.
IBM pulls advertisements from X over antisemitic posts
A report claimed IBM — along with several other major brands — had its ads appearing next to content that touted Adolf Hitler and Nazis.
In the report published earlier this month by the liberal advocacy group Media Matters, Musk is also accused of endorsing antisemitic conspiracy theories. X has since sued the Washington-based nonprofit, arguing that it fabricated the report in order to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.”
Musk's meeting Monday is not his first with Netanyahu. The prime minister traveled to California in September to discuss combating the spread of antisemitism on X.
At the time, Netanyahu said that while he appreciates Musk's commitment to free speech, "I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment the ability to stop not only antisemitism, or roll it back as best you can, but any collective of hatred of the people that antisemitism represents."
"Obviously I am against antisemitism," Musk responded. "I am against anything that promotes hate and conflict, and I am in favor of that in which that helps society and takes us to a better future."
