Elon Musk gets Hamas invite: After Israel, will he travel to Gaza?

Elon Musk, the social media mogul accused of endorsing an anti-Jewish conspiracy, has been invited to Gaza by Hamas… to witness “the extent of destruction caused by the Israeli bombardment.” The invites comes after the tech billionaire visited the site of the Hamas assault on Israel and declared his commitment to do whatever was necessary to stop the spread of hatred. However, looks like Musk is not interested in accepting the invite. Here’s why. The Hamas invite A senior Hamas official invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday to visit the Palestinian Gaza Strip to see the extent of destruction caused by the Israeli bombardment. “We invite him to visit Gaza to see the extent of the massacres and destruction committed against the people of Gaza, in compliance with the standards of objectivity and credibility,” Hamas’ senior official Osama Hamdan said in a press conference in Beirut on Tuesday. “Within 50 days, Israel dropped more than 40,000 tonnes of explosives on the homes of defenceless Gazans. I call on US president Biden to review the US relationship with Israel and to stop supplying them with weapons.” Notably, Hamdan’s comments came a day after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for an additional 48 hours. Commenting on the invitation, Musk said on his social media platform X, “Seems a bit dangerous there right now, but I do believe that a long-term prosperous Gaza is good for all sides.”

Seems a bit dangerous there right now, but I do believe that a long-term prosperous Gaza is good for all sides

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2023

Elon Musk’s visit to Israel On Monday, the richest man in the world visited Tel Aviv’s Kfar Aza kibbutz, the site of the 7 October assault by Hamas. He also declared his commitment “to do whatever was necessary to stop the spread of hatred.” During his visit, the entrepreneur met Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Voicing his support he said one challenge was “ultimately stopping the propaganda that is convincing people to engage in, you know, murder.” When Netanyahu said that Hamas must be destroyed, Musk replied, “There’s no choice,” asserting, “I’d like to rebuild Gaza after the war, but is important to first deradicalise the Palestinian territories.” According to NDTV, Musk also received a symbolic dog tag from Malki Shem-Tov, the father of an Israeli hostage in Gaza, Omer Shem-Tov. He promised to wear it around his neck until all hostages were set free. The metal tag reads, “Our hearts are hostage in Gaza.” As per media reports, the tech billionaire also struck an agreement that says “Starlink satellite units (would) only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip.” This came as a sharp turn from his previous musing that he could provide Starlink to Gaza in order to enhance communications amid numerous telecom blackouts.

His antisemitism controversy Musk recently sparked an uproar with a tweet supporting a netizen who accused Jews of hating white people and for professing a general indifference to antisemitism. “You have said the actual truth,” he replied on X, but later added, “You right that this does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL.”

You have said the actual truth

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023

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You right that this does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023

Inflaming tensions with his own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, Musk continued that he was “deeply offended by ADL’s messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind.” “The ADL, unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel. This is because they cannot, by their own tenets, criticise the minority groups who are their primary threat,” he further tweeted.

The ADL unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel.

This is because they cannot, by their own tenets, criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat.

It is not right and needs to stop.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023

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These strings of tweets drew criticism from the White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, who according to CNN said, “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.” This was in reference to the Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel. According to The Independent, Musk later responded to the accusations, saying “nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.” Adding oil to the fire was liberal advocacy group Media Matters’ report that claimed ads from major brands like Apple, Oracle were placed next to antisemitic material on X. This led to advertising players to pull funding from the microblogging platform. It was a huge blow to the company, which has been struggling to win back big brands and their ad revenues that constitute its main source of income. According to CBS News, advertising on X dropped 60 per cent in September and revenue has cratered. In July, Musk noted that the platform’s ad revenue had decreased by half. By the end of this year, the company could further lose $75 million in advertising revenue, according to the New York Times. In response to the report, Musk filed a lawsuit accusing Media Matters of attempting to destroy the platform, reported Reuters. In the lawsuit filed in a US District Court in Texas, X claimed Media Matters “manipulated” the social media platform by using accounts that exclusively followed accounts for major brands or users known to produce fringe content, and “resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing” the feed until it found ads next to extremist posts. Media Matters’ President Angelo Carusone called the lawsuit “frivolous” in an emailed statement and said it was “meant to bully X’s critics into silence.” “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court,” he added.