Elon Musk began a high-profile tour of Israel nearly two months into its war against Hamas, as the entrepreneur remains on the defensive over allegations of latent anti-Semitism.
One of his first stops was Kfar Aza, a kibbutz where dozens of Israeli civilians were massacred by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. There the owner of social media platform X was joined by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who himself is battling calls to resign.
“Actions speak louder than words,” tweeted Musk on Monday, after touching down in the country.
On Monday, Musk also agreed in principle that his Starlink satellites, which provide broadband internet communications, could only be operated in the Gaza Strip with the approval of the Israeli government. Netanyahu has sought to secure tactical control of the area amid his ongoing ground incursion to root out Hamas, but the invasion has also raised fears that it cuts the area off from the outside world.
Critics view Musk’s high-profile visit as the latest attempt by the Tesla CEO to wash himself clean of suspicions he harbors bigoted views, suspicions that were recently reignited by an endorsement he gave to an X post pushing a long-running anti-Semitic trope.
Earlier, Musk came under fire in May for calling Jewish financier George Soros a supervillain bent on the “destruction of Western civilization” and in September, for calling the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish-run advocacy group fighting bigotry, a “generator” of anti-Semitism.
Elon Musk, I congratulate you for reaching a principle understanding with the Ministry of Communications under my leadership.
— 🇮🇱שלמה קרעי - Shlomo Karhi (@shlomo_karhi) November 27, 2023
As a result of this significant agreement, Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of…
He subsequently joined Netanyahu in San Francisco, where Musk called himself a “pro-Semite.” Later he went so far as to describe himself as “aspirationally Jewish.”
The issue appeared resolved until two weeks ago, when Musk endorsed a social media post that suggested Jews support the marginalization of whites in America, calling it the “actual truth.” The move prompted a direct rebuke from the Biden administration.
Netanyahu under pressure to resign
Amid fresh suspicions about his views toward Jews, Musk then decreed that using the term “decolonization” on his platform would henceforth be considered tantamount to calling for the genocide of Israel, earning the approval of the ADL. The term is used to portray Palestinians as a colonized people subject to Israeli authority.
Media Matters for America chair Angelo Carusone told Fortune the move to ban the term was “performative,” while other critics say the decision served to absolve Musk from having to apologize for his original comments.
“The move made a mockery of the ostensible free speech absolutism that was Musk’s excuse for allowing so much anti-Semitism on X in the first place,” wrote Michelle Goldberg in the New York Times. “Musk appears to have learned the lesson that ardent Zionism can function as an alibi for anti-Semitism.”
For Israel’s embattled government, Musk’s visit offers the chance to win global support for its ground invasion of Gaza and deflect attention from domestic polls showing a majority want Prime Minister Netanyahu to resign.
Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for a targeted policy of splitting Palestinian leadership by strengthening the Hamas terrorist movement in Gaza. He also is accused of having ignored intelligence that warned of the Oct. 7 attack, which claimed the lives of about 1,200 people.
Veteran Israeli journalist Noga Tarnopolsky criticized Netanyahu for welcoming the controversial entrepreneur rather than an actual Jewish world leader like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Netanyahu ignores him. But he has the time for anti-Semitism promulgator Elon Musk,” she posted to Musk’s social media platform.
