Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Twitter / X owner Elon Musk that his platform needed to do more “to fight and combat” anti-Jewish hate on Monday, as the tech guru visited Israel on a goodwill visit.
Earlier, Musk met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and toured the community of Kfar Aza, one of the hardest-hit Israeli communities, where Hamas terrorists murdered 100 innocent civilians on October 7 and took 18 hostages, including children.
In his meeting with Herzog, Musk also met with the family members of Israeli hostages, including the family of Omer Shem-Tov and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who lost an arm in the terror attack October 7.
Rachel Goldberg, mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose arm was blown off before being taken captive, shows Elon Musk footage of his abduction. pic.twitter.com/BKZjVR2KUH
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 27, 2023
(Video credit: Avi Kaner / GPO; Sound credit: Uri Buzaglo / GPO)
In a statement, Israel’s Government Press Office said:
Among the representatives of the families, Rachel, mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who was being held captive by Hamas, told Elon Musk, “We know they’re innocent civilians in Gaza who are also suffering terribly. We as families are suffering horribly, and we would appreciate any of your help that you can provide and thank you for coming.”
Also speaking was Malki, father of Omer Shem-Tov, who was being held captive by Hamas, told Elon Musk, “I know you’re very powerful man. And I think every support, you can raise our voices in order to bring the hostages back. That will be something very, very meaningful for all the families. Thank you.” He then presented Mr. Musk with a necklace bearing the words “Bring Them Home”.
President Herzog thanked the families for telling their stories, and said, “The choice is between good and evil. The pain, the sorrow, the agony that you’re going through. The unending torture of not knowing the fate of your loved ones is simply the example, the epitomization of what Elon has seen since the morning. He went to Kfar Aza and saw the destruction and the horrors of 7 October. He then saw the video with Prime Minister Netanyahu and now he’s meeting you. And I think this is a very important way of transforming, and translating, and expressing the saga that you’re going through and bringing it to the knowledge of decision makers in the world and humanity at large. Because, the war is exactly about humanity. Are we on the side of humanity? Being able to behave as human beings in a world order of some kind? Or are we caving into a new world order where Jihadists who are raping, torturing, chopping, and burning, and abducting will run the world. This is the dilemma and that’s why we’re here.”
Musk has been criticized in recent weeks for allowing antisemitism to flourish on the platform, as well as for comments that seemed to endorse the view that Jewish communities had been supporting “hatred against whites” in the United States.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.