Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently visited Israel amidst a pause in the ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The visit included meetings with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The discussions revolved around combating rising antisemitism online and the potential use of Musk's Starlink communications in Gaza.
Musk's visit to Israel coincided with a four-day truce in the Israeli war with Palestinian Hamas militants. The Israeli government announced an agreement in principle to use Musk's Starlink communications in Gaza. However, Musk's previous proposal to use Starlink to support communication links in Gaza during the war was initially objected by Israeli Communications Shlomo Karhi, citing potential misuse by Hamas for terrorist activities.
In addition to the discussions on Starlink, Musk also met with representatives for families of hostages held in Gaza. This comes amidst growing controversy over antisemitic content on his social media platform, X. Musk has been criticized for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X, leading to major brands pausing advertising on the platform.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has condemned antisemitism in all its forms, including the recent comments made by Elon Musk on social media. Sunak, who shared a stage with Musk at the UK's AI Safety Summit in early November, has been criticized for his association with Musk. The Israel-Hamas conflict has led to a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobic hate crimes in the UK.
Musk has previously stated that his social media platform, X, should be a platform for diverse viewpoints, but will limit the distribution of certain posts that violate its policies.