Tech tycoon Elon Musk has taken advantage of the pause in fighting in Gaza to visit Israel, following the heavy criticism he has faced in recent weeks about the growing number of anti-Semitic posts on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that he owns, and the withdrawal of advertisers like IBM and Apple.
Musk visited Kfar Aza
Musk, who owns electric vehicle company Tesla and SpaceX, landed in Israel this morning and toured the Kfar Aza kibbutz on the Gaza border, accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Maj. Gen. Eyal Harel Head of the IDF Planning and Force Build-up Directorate to see and hear about the massacre that took place there on October 7. The prime Minister's Office said that Musk spoke there with acting mayor of the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council Yossi Koren and IDF spokesperson representative Liad Diamond.
Netanyahu and Musk also visited the Libstein family to hear about the heroics of the late Ofir Libstein, the Mayor of the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council who was murdered on the morning of the Hamas attack. Musk also heard about four year old Avigail Idan, who was abducted by Hamas after her parents were murdered and was released from captivity yesterday.
After his visit to Kfar Aza, Musk tweeted on X "Actions speak louder than words."
Musk and Netanyahu are in the Knesset at the moment. Musk will see a movie about the slaughter and will then take part in a live broadcast with Netanyahu, the second such event in the past three months. Musk will also meet government minister Benny Gantz and President Isaac Herzog. He will also receive a briefing on the security situation.
Despite Musk's conciliatory comments about Gaza, he has promised to connect the Palestinians there to the Starlink satellite Internet system, although it will be controlled by Israel. He will also donate revenue from X to Israeli and Palestinian charities. Musk has no plans to visit Gaza or Judea and Samaria.
A source has told "Globes" that former Israeli NBA star and tech investor Omri Casspi helped organize Musk's visit to Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 27, 2023.
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