Musk to meet Israeli president, hostage families

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will meet Elon Musk on Monday and emphasise “the need to act to combat rising anti-Semitism online,” the politician’s office said Sunday.

Musk, owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, has come under fire over what critics say is a proliferation of hate speech on the social media site since his takeover.

He has also been accused by the White House of “abhorrent promotion” of anti-Semitism after endorsing a conspiracy theory seen as accusing Jews of trying to weaken white majorities.

Herzog’s office said the meeting would be joined by “representatives of families of hostages held by Hamas, who will speak about the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive”.

“In their meeting, the President will emphasise the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online,” Herzog’s office said.

In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Musk to combat anti-Semitism on X, calling on him to find “the ability to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred”.

Musk, the world’s richest person, said while his website could not stop all hate speech before it was posted, he was “generally against attacking any group, no matter who it is”.

X Corp is currently suing nonprofit Media Matters on grounds it has driven away advertisers by portraying the site as rife with anti-Semitic content.

Musk has also threatened to file suit against the Anti-Defamation League over its claims that problematic and racist speech has soared on the site since he completed his $44-billion takeover.  (BSS/AFP)