Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur facing allegations from civil rights groups regarding anti-Jewish content on his X social media platform, is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Israel on Monday, as reported by Channel 12 TV on Sunday.
A source from Israel has confirmed Elon Musk's visit, and representatives from Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) have not yet responded to requests for comments.
This visit comes during a four-day truce in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
Netanyahu previously met Elon Musk in California on September 18, urging him to find a balance between protecting free expression and combating hate speech, especially in light of the controversy surrounding antisemitic content on X.
Elon Musk reiterated his stance against antisemitism and anything promoting hate and conflict, emphasizing that X would not support hate speech.
During the September visit, before the outbreak of the conflict, around 200 people protested against Netanyahu's government outside Tesla's California factory, where the meeting occurred.
On November 15, Elon Musk endorsed a post on X falsely claiming that Jewish people were fueling hatred against white individuals. Musk asserted that the user, who referenced the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, was speaking "the actual truth."
The White House condemned this endorsement, describing it as the "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate" contrary to American core values.
In response, major US companies, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and NBCUniversal parent Comcast, paused their advertisements on Musk's social media site.
The "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory posits that Jewish people and leftists are orchestrating the ethnic and cultural replacement of white populations with non-white immigrants, leading to a supposed "white genocide."
Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have surged in the United States and globally during the ongoing seven-week conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Following the outbreak of the war, antisemitic incidents in the United States increased by nearly 400%, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Elon Musk, emphasizing X as a platform for diverse viewpoints, mentioned the company's commitment to limiting the distribution of posts violating its policies, framing it as "freedom of speech, not reach."
Elon Musk is actively involved in developing an artificial intelligence startup called xAI, and Israel, being a world leader in the field, holds significance in this endeavor due to its burgeoning computing and robotics industries.
Despite the economic impact of the conflict, Israel's economy, initially on track for over 3% growth this year, is now estimated at around 2%, with slow growth expected in 2024 as long as the war persists. After an initial 6% drop at the war's outset, the shekel has gained 8% against the dollar, returning to pre-war levels. Local investors have contributed to the recovery of stock prices following a steep drop last month.