Netanyahu, Musk to Stream Talk on Antisemitism, Judicial Reform

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk are scheduled to spend an hour-long live broadcast discussing antisemitism and judicial reform when they meet in Silicon Valley later today.

(Bloomberg) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk are scheduled to spend an hour-long live broadcast discussing antisemitism and judicial reform when they meet in Silicon Valley later today. 

The conversation will be streamed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, according to an agenda released to reporters on Monday.

The broadcast provides an opportunity for Netanyahu and Musk to respond to months of intense public criticism. Musk has been in an escalating row with the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group he accuses of undermining X’s advertising revenue. The ADL has, together with other civil rights watchdogs, highlighted a rise in extremist content on the platform after Musk took it over last year and fired most of its staff. Musk has said on X he’s “pro free speech” but against “antisemitism of any kind.”

Netanyahu’s efforts to weaken Israel’s judiciary have sparked months of protests, supported by many of the country’s tech entrepreneurs. 

The ADL said in a statement that it hopes that Netanyahu and Musk will have a “productive meeting” and talk about ways to combat hate speech on the platform, Bloomberg reported last week. 

Netanyahu will use the meeting to call on Musk to invest in Israel’s AI industry, he told reporters on the tarmac in Tel Aviv ahead of his flight to California. He will also take a tour of Tesla’s Fremont factory and ride in an autonomous vehicle, as well as participate in a round-table discussion on AI with other industry experts, according to the agenda. 

The meeting takes place before the Israeli premier attends the United National General Assembly in New York, a spokesperson said. 

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