ELON MUSK VISITS ISREAL, DECLARES SUPPORT FOR THE WAR AGAINST HAMAS
Elon Musk, a well-known tech magnate, visited Israel and affirmed his support for the fight against Hamas.
Musk declared that Israel’s determination to annihilate Hamas is unchangeable.
During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other stakeholders on Monday in Kfar Aza, Israel, Musk disclosed this.
After being accused of inciting antisemitism on his social networking site X, Musk travelled to Israel on Monday to meet with Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, other authorities, victims of the October 7 Hamas attack, and the relatives of the hostages.
Less than two weeks after endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his X platform, which caused big businesses to remove their advertisements from the microblogging site, the billionaire made the decision to travel to Israel.
At a meeting on November 27, 2023, Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu viewed video of Hamas atrocities on October 7. (Image courtesy of Amos Ben Gershom/GPO.)
Musk started his visit by viewing a few southern Israeli villages that were among the most hit by the October 7 Hamas offensive, accompanied by Netanyahu.
Musk saw the horrors of the Hamas attack, in which terrorists stormed the neighbourhood and about twenty others, during the tour of Kfar Aza.
According to Musk, the experience was ājarringā. He also noted that he was struck by what appeared to be ājoyā on the part of the terrorists in the video.
āThe rebuttal is often made that well, you know, Israel has killed civilians also in Gaza,ā Musk said. āBut thereās an important difference here, which is that Israel tries to avoid killing civilians, doing everything it can to avoid killing civilians. And, you know, thereās no sort of joy expressed.ā
He added that āthereās no choiceā but for Israel to destroy Hamas, but that Israel then needs to āhelp those that remain,ā likening a future postwar scenario to the post-World War II US occupation of Germany and Japan.
āIf you want security, peace and a better life for Gazans, then you need to destroy Hamas. You first have to get rid of the poisonous regime, as was done in Germany and Japan,ā said Netanyahu, to which Musk responded: āThereās no choice.ā
He added, āYou need to pair firmness and taking out the terrorists and those intent on murder, and at the same time help those that remain, which is what happened in Germany and Japan.ā
āUsually the victor punishes the loser,ā he continued, pointing to the rehabilitation of Germany and Japan by the allies after World War II as examples of how reconstruction efforts after a major war and a clear-cut victory helped secure peace for a long period.
In his remarks, Herzog noted that Muskās X platform reeks of antisemitism, calling on the tech mogul to endeavour to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.
He said, āUnfortunately, we are inundated by antisemitism, which is Jew hate, and Jew hate impacts the entire notion of behaviour of human beings in so many places around the world. And you have a huge role to play, and I think we need to fight it together, because under the platforms you lead, unfortunately, there is a harbouring of a lot of old hate which is Jew hate, which is antisemitism.
āYouāve seen how evil can supersede everything, youāve seen this morning what hate can bring about, youāve seen how thought turns into evil turns into hate and bloodshedā, he added.
Responding, Musk said, āThese people have been fed propaganda since they were children. Itās remarkable what humans are capable of if they are fed falsehood since they are children. They think that murdering innocent people is a good thing. Thatās how much propaganda can affect peopleās minds.ā
Since he took over the company last year, Musk has been panned for what critics say is a proliferation of hate speech in general on the platform.