FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023.  REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
Israel

Elon Musk in Israel for talks on Gaza hostages, online hate

Elon Musk landed in Tel Aviv on Monday, an aviation tracker said, beginning a visit during which Israeli leaders plan to bring his attention to the plight of hostages held in war-torn Gaza

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk landed in Tel Aviv on Monday, an aviation tracker said, beginning a visit during which Israeli leaders plan to bring his attention to the plight of hostages held in war-torn Gaza and discuss rising antisemitism online.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's office announced on Sunday that Musk would be coming to meet the head of state. According to Israeli media, he will also meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Musk's office had no immediate comment.

Avi Scharf, an aviation expert with Israel's Haaretz newspaper, posted on Musk's media platform X - formerly known as Twitter - that a plane carrying the billionaire, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, had touched down in the morning.

Netanyahu met Musk in California on Sept. 18 and urged him to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over antisemitic content on X. Musk responded by saying he was against antisemitism and against anything that "promotes hate and conflict," repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.

Antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen in the UnitedStates and worldwide, including during the now seven-week-old war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian faction Hamas.

The sides are currently in a truce under which Israel has been recovering some of the 240 people Hamas took hostage during a cross-border killing spree on Oct 7. In exchange, Israel has been freeing some Palestinians jailed on security grounds.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Stephen Coates)

German workers strike nationwide, hitting automakers

Nuclear reactor restarts in Japan for first time since Fukushima

Korea curfew to curb Bukchon tourism met with skepticism

Baltimore bridge crash: Ship owner to pay $102 million

"House of Phaedra" uncovered in Pompeii with preserved frescoes