Elon Musk has paid a visit to Israel, where he toured a kibbutz that was attacked last month by Hamas militants.
The billionaire has been under fire over accusations of antisemitism flourishing on his social media platform, X.
Mr Musk and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu toured the Kfar Azza kibbutz, a rural village that Hamas militants stormed on October 7th in an attack which launched the war.
The entrepreneur, wearing a protective vest and escorted by a phalanx of security personnel as rain fell, used his phone to take photos or videos of the devastation, according to video released by Mr Netanyahu’s office.
The Tesla chief executive and the prime minister visited the homes of some victims, including the family of Abigail Edan, a four-year-old girl with dual Israeli-US citizenship who was held hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed.
She was released on Sunday in the latest round of exchanges during a ceasefire in Gaza set to expire after Monday.
Actions speak louder than words
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2023
Mr Musk was also due to meet Israeli president Isaac Herzog and Benny Gantz, a former defence minister who is now part of a special war cabinet in Israel.
Government spokesperson Eylon Levy declined to say whether Mr Musk was invited or came on his own. X, formerly known as Twitter, did not respond to a request for comment.
Israel’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, tweeted earlier on Monday about a deal that his ministry had reached with Mr Musk’s Starlink satellite internet company.
“As a result of this significant agreement, Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli ministry of communications, including the Gaza Strip,” Mr Karhi wrote, without providing further details.
Mr Musk has faced accusations from the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil-rights organisation, and others of tolerating antisemitic messages on the platform since purchasing it last year, and the content on X has gained increased scrutiny since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
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 content and white nationalist posts.
It came the same week Mr Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory that drew outcry, including from the White House.
Mr Musk responded on X this month to a user who accused Jews of hating white people and professing indifference to antisemitism by saying: “You have said the actual truth.”
X has since sued Media Matters, saying the Washington-based non-profit manufactured the report to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp”.
Monday’s visit is not the first time Mr Musk and Mr Netanyahu have met. Mr Netanyahu came to California in September, telling the Tesla chief executive that he hopes Musk can find a way to roll back antisemitism and other forms of hatred within the limits of the First Amendment.
