Elon Musk's X To Donate Revenue To Hospitals In Israel, Red Cross In Gaza
Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Elon Musk's X Corp. will be donating to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Gaza, the businessman announced on Nov. 21.
In a post on X, Mr. Musk said the donations would consist of "all revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza."
Asked how he will ensure the funds to Gaza won't end up in the hands of Hamas terrorists, the billionaire stressed that X Corp. will track how the funds are spent and go through the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Gaza.
"Better ideas are welcome. We should care about the innocent regardless of race, creed, religion, or anything else," he said.
Responding to further comments that raised concerns about the funds potentially falling into the wrong hands, Mr. Musk also weighed up potential direct purchases of pediatric medical supplies for the wounded civilians in Gaza.
Mr. Musk's announcement comes after he denied allegations of anti-Semitism in response to a controversial social media post last week.
The Tesla CEO faced widespread backlash after he replied, "You have said the actual truth," to a post on X that accused Jewish communities of pushing "dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them."
Mr. Musk added in his response to the post that "this does not extend to all Jewish communities" but said the blame should be on groups such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which describes itself as a Jewish advocacy group.
Musk Sparks Backlash
"The ADL unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel," he wrote on Nov. 15. "This is because they cannot, by their own tenets, criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat. It is not right and needs to stop."
"And, at the risk of being repetitive, I am deeply offended by ADL’s messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind. I’m sick of it. Stop now," he concluded.
His comments drew immediate backlash from multiple officials, including the Biden administration, with White House spokesperson Andrew Bates stating it was "unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of Antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust."
Mr. Musk later took aim at what he said were the "bogus media stories" that alleged anti-Semitism in the wake of his comments, stressing that "nothing could be further from the truth."
"I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all," he added.
X Corp. Files Lawsuit
However, it appeared to do little to quell the backlash, and corporations including Comcast, Disney, IBM, and Warner Bros. promptly began pulling their advertisements from the platform after a report by left-wing media watchdog Media Matters accused the site of failing to contain pro-Nazi content and hate speech.
Specifically, the report claimed that X was placing advertisements for Apple, Bravo (NBCUniversal), Oracle, Xfinity (Comcast), and IBM "next to posts that tout Hitler and his Nazi Party."
The corporate advertisements were appearing on "pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, pro-violence, and neo-Nazi accounts," according to the report.
X called the report "another attempt to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers." The company later filed a lawsuit against Media Matters for defamation.
More than 1,200 people were killed when Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7.
Since then, more than 14,000 Gazans have been killed, according to medical officials in the Hamas-ruled territory.
On Nov. 22, Israel and Hamas reached a deal for a four-day pause in fighting to allow aid into war-torn Gaza and the release of at least 50 women and children who are among the 240 hostages held in Gaza.
In exchange, at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel, who are also all women and children, will be released.
Naveen Athrappully and Reuters contributed to this report.