Elon Musk
attends Netanyahu’s congressional address as his guest
A day after
activating Starlink internet in Gaza, Tesla CEO appears at Israeli PM’s
controversial joint session
Nick
Robins-Early
Wed 24 Jul
2024 21.03 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jul/24/elon-musk-netanyahu-speech-congress
Elon Musk
attended Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday as a guest of
the embattled Israeli prime minister.
A day
earlier, the tech billionaire announced that his Starlink internet service was
now active in a Gaza hospital, with the support of Israel’s government.
Netanyahu’s
congressional visit was met with thousands of protesters gathering near Capitol
Hill to demonstrate against Israeli abuses during its war in Gaza. Lawmakers
were divided over whether he should have been invited to speak.
Musk has a
history of courting rightwing leaders in countries that have overlapping
business interests with his various enterprises. He previously hosted Javier
Millei, Argentina’s president, at his Tesla factory and has been a cheerleader
for his policies, while also cozying up to Narendra Modi, India’s prime
minister, and Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president.
Musk
previously met with Netanyahu during a visit to Israel last year, as the tech
leader sought to quell accusations of antisemitism after personally endorsing a
post on his social network X, formerly Twitter, that claimed Jews hate white
people. Far-right content on the platform has also increased.
Musk’s visit
also appears to have helped pave the way for SpaceX to provide its Starlink
satellite internet to Gaza, which he announced on Tuesday was now in service at
a hospital. The single location, which was supported by Israel and the United
Arab Emirates, also reflects the tight controls that Israel has put on
communications technology in the area.
In recent
weeks, Musk has also thrown his support behind Donald Trump’s election campaign
and played a direct role in advising the former president to select JD Vance,
Ohio senator, as his running mate.
Although
Musk has continued to post conservative content and attacks against the
presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, he appears to have tempered some
of his support for Trump following Joe Biden dropping out of the race. Musk
pushed back against a report he was set to donate $45m per month to a pro-Trump
political action committee.
Musk’s
appearance as a guest of Netanyahu further aligns him with the Republican party
line, which has thrown its support behind the Israeli leader as many Democrats
condemn his actions. A number of progressive Democratic lawmakers declined to
attend Netanyahu’s speech, with New York representative Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez denouncing him as a “war criminal”.
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