Elon Musk visited Israel on Monday, discussing a potential agreement to use his company SpaceX’s Starlink technology in the Gaza Strip. This happened occurred during a ceasefire in the conflict with Hamas, coinciding with Musk’s visit.

According to Reuters, Musk has not provided a statement regarding the visit. However, he did post a cryptic message on X.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to meet Musk this afternoon. They will talk about rising online antisemitism and meet families of the people captured by Hamas in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also meet Musk to discuss how artificial intelligence can affect security.

During their last meeting in California in September, Netanyahu encouraged Musk to find the balance between free expression and fighting against hate speech, amid controversies over antisemitism on X.

Last month, Musk suggested using Starlink in Gaza to maintain communication during the war. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi expressed concerns that Hamas might exploit Starlink for terrorist activities.

But now, Karhi revealed a tentative agreement with Musk, but said that Starlink’s operation in Israel, including Gaza, would require permission from the Israeli government.

Elon Musk’s Antisemitism Controversy

Recently, there has been a worldwide increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia. This has been made worse by the recent seven-week conflict in Gaza. Right now, there’s a ceasefire, and some people who were held in Gaza and Palestinians detained by Israel are being released.

After the conflict in Gaza began, antisemitic events in the U.S. went up by over 300% compared to the year before, according to the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights antisemitism.

On November 15, Musk replied to a post on X that supported the “Great Replacement” theory. The “Great Replacement” theory alleges a plot by Jewish individuals and leftists to replace white populations with non-white immigrants, purportedly leading to a “white genocide.”

Musk called this theory “the actual truth.” This comment led to a lot of criticism, including from the White House, which called it a terrible promotion of antisemitic and racist hate against American values.

This is the post he replied to:

Because of this, big U.S. companies like Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and Comcast (NBCUniversal’s parent company) stopped their ads on X.

Meanwhile, X CEO Linda Yaccarino stated that X, as a platform, is no place for discrimination and that it is ugly and wrong. She was responding to a post by Musk, who said, “clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.”