X owner Elon Musk is expected to visit Israel next week, Israeli media outlet N12 said in a widely cited report.
“The richest man in the world is expected to visit the Gaza Strip and see the destruction in settlements and kibbutzim after the surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7,” the Hebrew language outlet reported.
Musk will also meet with Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the trip, N12 reported. Just weeks before the Hamas attack, Musk spoke with Netanyahu on X from the floor of the California Tesla factory.
Plans for the trip come in the wake of widespread pushback to several of his posts and comments on X, and his threats to sue the Anti Defamation League, which he blames for a 60% drop in advertising since he bought the platform a year ago.
Critics all the way up to the White House have condemned Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” for allowing antisemitic content to be posted on his platform and for amplifying an antisemitic conspiracy theory, which he called “actual truth” in a post on X.
He followed through on a threat to sue Media Matters after the left-leaning media watchdog released a report showing antisemitic posts appearing next to major advertisers, which led to the latest exodus of advertisers after months of effort to draw them back to the platform. He derided the departing companies as “the greatest oppressors” of free speech.
On Sunday, he posted in his own defense. “This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic,” he posted on Sunday. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
And on Tuesday, he posted that X “Corp “will be donating all revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross/Crescent in Gaza.”
He’s also moved to police some of the posts on X, banning posts with comments that refer to “decolonization” or use the slogan “from the river to the sea,” which is seen as antisemitic because it implies the elimination of Israel.
