Elon Musk, the influential figure in the tech industry, has thrown his weight behind Israel’s battle against Hamas during his recent visit to the country.
Musk said that ‘There’s no choice’ in Israel’s resolve to destroy Hamas. Musk revealed this information on Monday while in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key figures in Kfar Aza, Israel.
Touching down in Israel on Monday, Musk convened with Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, officials, and those affected by the October 7 Hamas attack. This meeting also included families of hostages. The visit comes amid accusations of promoting antisemitism on Musk’s social media platform, X.
Less than 14 days after endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his X platform, the billionaire headed to Israel, triggering the withdrawal of advertisements from major companies on the microblogging site.
Musk, accompanied by Netanyahu, embarked on his visit by touring southern Israeli towns hit hard by the October 7 assault orchestrated by Hamas.
While touring Kfar Aza, Musk was exposed to the harrowing scenes of the Hamas attack, a violent incident that witnessed terrorists invading the community and about 20 others.
Referring to the incident as “jarring,” Musk expressed his astonishment at the apparent sense of “joy” displayed by the terrorists in the video.
“The rebuttal is often made that well, you know, Israel has killed civilians also in Gaza,” Musk said. “But there’s an important difference here, which is that Israel tries to avoid killing civilians, doing everything it can to avoid killing civilians. And, you know, there’s no sort of joy expressed.”
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He added that “there’s no choice” but for Israel to destroy Hamas, but that Israel then needs to “help those that remain,” likening a future postwar scenario to the post-World War II US occupation of Germany and Japan.
‘If 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,’ said Netanyahu, to which Musk responded: ‘There’s no choice.’
He added, ‘You 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.’
‘Usually the victor punishes the loser,” 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 Musk’s X platform reeks of antisemitism, calling on the tech mogul to endeavour to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.
He said, ‘Unfortunately, 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.’
‘You’ve seen how evil can supersede everything, you’ve seen this morning what hate can bring about, you’ve seen how thought turns into evil turns into hate and bloodshed’, he added.
Responding, Musk said, ‘These people have been fed propaganda since they were children. It’s 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. That’s how much propaganda can affect people’s minds.’
Critics have criticized Musk for what they argue is a rise in hate speech on the platform since he assumed control of the company last year.