Tel Aviv [Israel], November 27 : Israeli President Isaac Herzog anticipates a closed-door meeting with Elon Musk on Monday as the billionaire faces criticism for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his social media platform, X, CNN reported.
Scheduled during Musk's visit to Israel, the meeting will focus on combatting rising antisemitism online. The president's office stated that representatives of families affected by a Hamas terror attack on October 7 will also join to share their experiences.
Representatives of the families of hostages held by Hamas were also expected to join the meeting, where they would share "the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive," the president's office said in a statement.
Musk, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, sparked controversy when he agreed with a claim on X accusing Jewish communities of promoting hatred against Whites. The ensuing fallout saw a rebuke from the White House and a significant exodus of advertisers from X.
In an X post earlier this month, one user had accused Jewish communities of "pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them." The post also referenced "hordes of minorities" flooding Western countries, a popular antisemitic conspiracy theory, CNN reported.
In response to the antisemitic post, Musk asserted, "You have said the actual truth," fuelling further criticism.
In subsequent posts at the time, Musk said he did not believe hatred of White people extends "to all Jewish communities."
But he also said the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organisation that fights antisemitism around the world, "unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel. This is because they cannot, by their own tenets, criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat."
Despite subsequent statements denying racism and antisemitism, Musk's comments have drawn condemnation from human rights groups and politicians.
The controversy has hit X hard commercially, with major brands, including Disney, IBM, and Fox Sports, halting ad spending. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, has long faced criticism for the prevalence of anti-Semitic discourse. Musk, at times, has disputed or denied reports on hate speech.
Musk's visit to Israel coincides with a pause in hostilities with Hamas. Herzog, in an interview, expressed bittersweet emotions over the release of hostages during the truce and indicated the possibility of extending it, contingent on Hamas releasing more hostages, CNN reported.
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