Elon Musk Meets Benjamin Netanyahu In Israel, Tours Kibbutz Attacked By Hamas

Tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday on a two-day visit to Israel and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During their meeting, Mr Netanyahu took the  X owner on a tour of an Israeli kibbutz destroyed during Hamas's October 7 attack. According to The Times of Israel, Mr Musk also heard briefings from a local council leader and a representative of the Israeli Defence Forces about the massacres in the Kfar Aza kibbutz. He was also shown photographs taken a few days after the attack, as per a press release from the prime minister's office.

''I toured Kibbutz Kfar Gaza with Elon Musk to show him up close the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas,'' caption of the picture shared by Mr Netanyahu read. In the picture, Mr Musk is seen in a protective vest and escorted by a phalanx of security personnel.

See the photo here:

סיירתי עם אילון מאסק בקיבוץ כפר עזה כדי להראות לו מקרוב את הפשעים נגד האנושות שביצע חמאס @elonmusk

(צילום: עמוס בן גרשום, לע״מ) pic.twitter.com/aipX6ryv7T

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) November 27, 2023

Mr Musk was also taken to the residence of Ofir Libstein, the community's security chief, who was shot and killed by Hamas. He also heard the tale of 4-year-old Israeli-American Avigail Idan, who was taken to Gaza and freed yesterday as a result of a hostage negotiation. 

During his conversation with the Israeli PM, Mr Musk said it was "it was jarring to see the scene of the massacre."

Notably, the tech entrepreneur has been accused by civil rights groups of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his X social media platform. A slew of big brands, including Disney and IBM, decided to stop advertising on the platform after a report by liberal advocacy group Media Matters said ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi material.

Prior to this visit, Mr. Netanyahu met Elon Musk in California on September 18 and urged him to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over antisemitic content on X.

Elon Musk responded by saying he was against antisemitism and against anything that "promotes hate and conflict," repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.