Netanyahu urges Musk to fight anti-Semitism

WASHINGTON: Israel´s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday urged Elon Musk to fight anti-Semitism on his X platform as he sat down with the tech tycoon to discuss artificial intelligence.

The conversation, which was broadcast on Musk´s X platform (formerly Twitter), came as the Tesla tycoon is mired in row with the Anti-Defamation League, a US-based Jewish organization.

Musk has accused the ADL of making unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism that have scared away advertisers and hurt his company´s revenue, and has threatened to sue for billions of dollars.

The ADL has for years accused the social media site of amplifying anti-Semitic hate speech, and has charged that problematic and racist speech has risen sharply on X after Musk completed his $44 billion takeover in October.

“I know your commitment to free speech,” Netanyahu told Musk, who has branded himself a free speech absolutist and welcomed back tens of thousands of banned accounts to the platform when he took over.

“I respect that because it´s foundational to democracies, but I also know your opposition to anti-Semitism...” the prime minister said.

“I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of people that anti-Semitism represents,” Netanyahu said.