Elon Musk embraces his freedom of tone, a freedom afforded to him by his status as the richest and most powerful entrepreneur on the planet. Traditionally it is the American Democrats who attack him for his openly Republican positions. But at the moment it is the accusation of incitement to anti-Semitism that is rising the most. The businessman is accused of allowing anti-Jewish attacks to flourish on his platform, X (formerly Twitter). He is expected in Israel, in Jerusalem, to explain this to President Isaac Herzog…
This is not the first time that the businessman has rubbed shoulders with the Jewish state. A month ago, harassed by pro-Palestinian Internet users, he gave in by proposing to upgrade Starlink to the provision of humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza to enable them to circumvent the Israeli blockade on the Internet. Tel Aviv had seen red and threatened to paralyze the entire Musk system. The project was nipped in the bud. Will this time the American multi-billionaire back down in the face of the wishes of Jerusalem?
This Monday, November 27, theoretically the last day of the truce, the boss of the social network X is announced to the Israeli president. Scheduled for this afternoon, this meeting officially aims to convince Musk to tighten the screws on his famous platform. The Israeli presidency indicates that Herzog will have at his side “representatives of families of hostages held by Hamas” and “will emphasize the need for action to combat growing anti-Semitism online.”
Note that the businessman, by purchasing Twitter, had committed to breaking down all barriers to freedom of expression, on all subjects. And obviously, anti-Semitism flourished on this network, thanks to the carnage perpetrated by the IDF in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 attack in Gaza. Musk has been widely criticized for turning a blind eye to anti-Jewish hatred and large American companies have gone so far as to cut their advertising on X.
A few days ago the billionaire responded to an account owner who had posted that Jews promoted “hatred against white people»: “You told the exact truth”. The American presidency immediately pointed the finger at the boss of Tesla and Space X for his “abject promotion of hatred anti-Semitic and racist”.
These issues and others will be addressed this Monday by the Israeli president. It is also said that Musk could discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, much more radical than the president, an uninhibited extremism that has taken his country into the long bloody tunnel that we know. But the meeting with Netanyahu was not confirmed by his office.
The last time the two men saw each other was in San Francisco last September. “I hope you will find the ability to end anti-Semitism (on X) or reduce it as much as possible”, in the framework set for freedom of expression, Netanyahu had pleaded with Musk. The latter, straight to his feet, replied that he is against anti-Semitism but also anything that “promotes hatred and conflict”…
A diplomatic way of telling Tel Aviv that it must also sweep its own door and introspect on the reasons for this torrent of hatred, and not just among Arab-Muslims either. If the two men meet again this Monday it will be much less cordial than last time.
