Elon Musk, with Benjamin Netanyahu, visits Kfar Aza
(Video: GPO)
Billionaire Elon Musk visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza Monday morning alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who presented him with the horrors of the October 7 massacre. Musk, who was wearing a protective vest, visited, among others, the homes of the late Ofir Libstein, head of the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council who was killed fighting Hamas terrorists on October 7, and the late Ram and Lili Itamari, who were murdered by Hamas terrorists.
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Musk heard about the massacre at Kfar Aza from kibbutz and IDF officials and recorded the terrible scenes with his smartphone. The visit ended in the youth neighborhood, which suffered the brunt of the attack on October 7.
After the tour of the Kfar Aza, Musk traveled to the Knesset, where he met with reporters alongside Netanyahu. Netanyahu was asked by Ynet if another push for the release of the hostages is expected, in the wake of the dispute over the list handed out by Hamas. He replied with Musk by his side: "We are working on everything, we will free them all." A conversation between Netanyahu and Musk was later broadcast live on X (formerly Twitter) and later the billionaire is also expected to meet with Minister Benny Gantz.
Later on Monday, Musk is scheduled to meet with President Isaac Herzog at his residence in Jerusalem. The President's House stated that the meeting will be attended by representatives of the families of the hostages and that it "will be held with the aim of revealing in a clear and in-depth manner the horrible massacre that was carried out on October 7." Herzog also plans to emphasize to Musk the commitment and the need to act to eradicate the rising antiדemitism on social media platforms.
Monday morning, shortly after Musk's landing in Israel, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi published a statement that the parties had reached agreements in principle that Starlink terminals, Musk's satellite Internet service, would be activated in Israel and the Gaza Strip only after approval by the Ministry of Communications. This, after last month Musk declared without coordination with Israel that he would connect the UN and aid organizations in Gaza to the internet.
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Elon Musk views firsthand the horror of October 7 at Kfar Aza
(Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
"When Israel is fighting Hamas-ISIS, these understandings are important, for those who want to shape a better world here, free from evil and anti-Semitism, For the future of our children," according to Karhi.
The visit to Israel may help Musk restore his image to Jewish communities around the world after he was accused of a series of recent antisemitic statements. In one notable case, he expressed support for a user on X who claimed that the Jewish communities promote hatred against whites, and wrote to him: "You have said the actual truth."
Musk also launched an unprecedented attack against the Anti-Defamation League, one of the oldest and most prominent Jewish organizations in the world, which claimed that antisemitism on the X platform, which he owns, had jumped 919% following the war in Gaza. Companies such as Apple, Disney and IBM froze advertising on X after their ads were displayed next to antisemitic and pro-Nazi content. At the end of the week, the New York Times reported that the loss of revenue could reach 75 million dollars by the end of the year.
Elon Musk arrives at the Knesset with Benjamin NEtanyahu
Musk has tried to minimize the damage in recent weeks. He stated that using the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" will lead to users being suspended from X, because it promotes genocide. Earlier this week he stated that all of X's income from war-related content will be transferred to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross in Gaza. "We should care about innocent people regardless of race, creed, religion or anything else," he explained.