Elon Musk to meet Israeli president as antisemitism furore brews

Elon Musk will meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and representatives of the families of hostages held in Gaza, in an apparent effort to defuse a growing furore over his endorsement of an antisemitic tweet.

The Tesla Inc and SpaceX chief executive is slated to join a closed-door discussion Monday with the family representatives and Herzog about the need to curb online antisemitism, a spokesperson for the president’s office said in a brief statement.

The billionaire has denied being racist and defended his views after endorsing the tweet, which drew condemnation from the White House and rights activists.

Critics have accused the world’s richest person of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on X, the service formerly known as Twitter that Musk bought for US$44 billion last year.

The backlash came around the same time Media Matters published a report pointing out alleged pro-Nazi content, triggering an exodus of advertisers including IBM Corp and Apple Inc. Musk has sued the liberal watchdog group.