In a visit aimed at calming outrage caused by his recent endorsement of an antisemitic post, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk made a trip to Israel on Monday. He met with the country's leaders, visited a kibbutz destroyed by Hamas, and engaged in discussions about antisemitism and online platforms.

Musk was accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he toured Kfar Azza, one of the kibbutzim attacked by Hamas on October 7. The kibbutz held personal significance as it was the home of Abigail Edan, a four-year-old American dual citizen who was abducted by the militant group and recently released. During a live online conversation with Netanyahu on X, Musk expressed his agreement with the prime minister's stance on the need to destroy Hamas.

"Those who are intent on murder must be neutralized. Then the propaganda must stop," Musk asserted. "They're just training people to be murderers." He also emphasized the importance of making Gaza prosperous.

Musk also held a closed-door meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during which the president urged Musk to address the issue of online antisemitism. Herzog highlighted the prevalence of hatred and antisemitism on the platforms Musk leads, stating, "I think we need to fight this together because the platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a large reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews, anti-Semitism."

Notably, representatives of families of hostages held by Hamas also joined the meeting, sharing their experiences of terror and ongoing pain. Rachel Goldberg, one of the family members, described Musk as genuinely concerned and moved when she showed him a video of her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, losing his arm during the October 7 attacks.

During his visit to the destroyed kibbutz, Musk received firsthand accounts from Israeli officials about the tragic events that took place. The billionaire's trip to Israel comes after facing criticism for endorsing a claim that Jewish communities perpetuate hatred against whites, resulting in backlash and a significant loss of advertisers on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

The controversy surrounding Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post has become a major commercial headache for X, with numerous prominent brands, including Disney, IBM, Fox Sports, and the European Commission, halting their ad spending on the platform.

Prior to this incident, X had faced criticism for the rise of antisemitic discourse on its platform. Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Center for Countering Digital Hate had reported an increase in hate speech on X in the past year, something Musk had either dismissed or denied.

Musk's visit to Israel coincides with a temporary ceasefire in hostilities with Hamas. Since the truce began, Hamas has released 58 hostages, primarily women and children, in exchange for the release of 117 Palestinian prisoners. The organization has expressed its desire to extend the truce.

Overall, Musk's visit to Israel provided an opportunity for discussions about pressing issues, including the destruction of Hamas, antisemitism, and the role of online platforms in combating hatred.