RSS
Netanyahu and Elon Musk talk antisemitism, judicial reform during friendly chat streamed on X
(JTA) – Elon Musk is famous for cracking down on staffers who criticize him, whether at Tesla, the electric car company he owns, or at X, the social media platform he purchased and renamed from Twitter.
So his confession to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the pair’s livestreamed conversation on Monday was notable.
“I, to be frank, probably got the most negative pushback from people at Tesla about this interview than anything else I’ve ever done,” Musk said.
Netanyahu and Musk entered the conversation dogged by criticism, Musk over his inflammatory statements about a Jewish civil rights group that has sought to tamp down hate speech on X and Netanyahu over his government’s efforts to overhaul Israel’s judiciary. In that context, Monday’s conversation was perhaps an opportunity for the two men — both right-wingers who trumpet the promises of technology — to find respite in a friendly conversation. Netanyahu wore a dark suit with an Israeli flag lapel pin. Musk, also the CEO of SpaceX, wore a partially unbuttoned white shirt and blue blazer with a patch that appeared to show spacecraft.
Israeli tech workers abroad, many living in the San Francisco Bay Area where the conversation took place, have been leaders in the movement of expats against the judicial overhaul. Musk mentioned anti-Netanyahu protests in San Francisco as he let Netanyahu know that he had faced criticism for choosing to sit down with the Israeli prime minister.
Local Jewish leaders in the Bay Area say the prime minister declined to meet with them during his visit to the area, which precedes his appearance at the United Nations in New York later in the week. The area’s Jewish Community Relations Council, which tried to set up a meeting with Netanyahu, sent him a letter referencing Musk’s inflammatory statements.
“We hope that you use your position of leadership to press for sorely needed reforms to protect Jews and other minorities from rising hate online,” the letter said. “Just last week, X owner Elon Musk fanned the flames of antisemitism by demonizing the Anti-Defamation League and amplifying white supremacist conspiracies.”
The letter also said that any changes to Israel’s judicial system need to occur via consensus, and urged the prime minister “to work with the president and opposition leaders to heal today’s divides and forge a unified path.”
Speaking with Musk, Netanyahu laid out his defense of the judicial overhaul, saying it was an effort to curb “the most activist judicial court on the planet,” and that he hoped to be a moderate consensus-builder. He added, “Israel will always be a democratic country.”
Regarding the protesters, Netanyahu said his conversation with Musk was “a good opportunity to tell people who are protesting, too, at least so they know what they’re protesting about. Because I think many of them don’t know. And there’s a concerted effort to make sure they don’t know.”
The two men appeared to get along, riffing on James Bond and “The Terminator,” and expressing admiration for Jewish science-fiction author Isaac Asimov. Musk also reminded the audience that he briefly attended a Hebrew preschool as a child in South Africa, and quipped, “I can sing a pretty good ‘Hava Nagila.’” At one point, Netanyahu asked what Musk would do if he were the “unofficial president” of the United States. (Musk, who was born in South Africa, is ineligible to become U.S. president.)
But Netanyahu also used the conversation to gently push Musk to consider how he can balance combating hate and maintaining a commitment to free speech on X.
The conversation followed accusations of antisemitism against Musk after he spent the past two weeks lambasting the Anti-Defamation League, which he blames for tanking X’s ad revenue, and threatening litigation against the Jewish civil rights group. During that time, he has also engaged with white supremacists on the platform. On Sunday, he posted that George Soros, the progressive Jewish megadonor and frequent target of antisemitic conspiracy theories, seeks “the destruction of western civilization.”
“I know your commitment to free speech. I respect that because it’s the foundational thing of democracies, really,” Netanyahu said. “But I also know your opposition to antisemitism. You’ve spoken about it, you’ve tweeted about it. And all I can say is I hope you can find within the confines of the First Amendment the ability to stop not only antisemitism, or roll it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of a people that antisemitism represents. And I know you’re committed to that. I hope you succeed in it. It’s not an easy task. But I encourage and urge you to find a balance. It’s a tough one.”
Musk responded that he is “against attacking any group. Doesn’t matter who it is.”
He added, “I’m in favor of that which furthers civilization and which ultimately leads us to become a space-bearing civilization where we understand the nature of the universe. So we can’t do that if there’s a lot of infighting and hatred and negativity. Obviously I’m against antisemitism.”
The conversation segued into a referendum on civilization. “If someone were, say, completely self-centered, how would you feel if you don’t have civilization?” Musk said. “It’s very easy to figure out. Just go into the forest with nothing. See how long you want to live there.”
“See how long you live. You’ll die very quickly,” Netanyahu said.
“I know, exactly,” Musk replied. “So, civilization, as it turns out, is pretty nice.”
The event had been marketed primarily as a chance to discuss the broader implications of artificial intelligence, which Netanyahu has previously discussed on the phone with Musk. They also participated in a roundtable discussion on artificial intelligence that also included Greg Brockman, the president and co-founder of artificial-intelligence company OpenAI, and Max Tegmark, a futurist and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor whose father is Jewish.
Musk has connections to both men: He was a founding board member of OpenAI and is a funder of Tegmark’s organization, the Future of Life Institute, which last year reportedly offered a grant to a Swedish pro-Nazi newspaper. During the roundtable, Netanyahu praised a book Tegmark wrote without mentioning his connection to the Nazi outlet.
Netanyahu sat on the sidelines of the A.I. roundtable that followed his conversation with Musk. The guests, Brockman and Tegmark, afforded Netanyahu little attention, beyond a brief mention by Brockman of the many Israelis who work at Open AI. At multiple points, the prime minister tried to press them on whether the advancement of A.I. technology would lead to a “concentration of power that will create a bigger and bigger distance between the haves and the have-nots,” but none of the futurists offered much sympathy for this point, and Tegmark likened Netanyahu’s concern to worrying about “hunter-gatherers” during the Industrial Revolution.
During their one-on-one conversation, Musk told Netanyahu that he thought A.I. was “potentially the biggest civilizational threat.”
“When you’re talking about having something that is an intelligence far in excess of the smartest human on earth, you have to say at that point, who’s in charge?” he added. “Is it the computers or the humans?”
Netanyahu hopes to position Israel as an A.I. industry leader, joking at one point, “You know what A.I. stands for. It stands for America and Israel, obviously.” He called the looming influence of A.I. “a choice between two things, a blessing and a curse,” comparing the dilemma to one posed by Moses when he “steered the children of Israel to the promised land.”
—
The post Netanyahu and Elon Musk talk antisemitism, judicial reform during friendly chat streamed on X appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers the keynote address at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su
Nearly 80 percent of French citizens oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s push to recognize a Palestinian state, according to a new study that underscores widespread public resistance to the controversial diplomatic initiative.
Last week, Macron announced the postponement of a United Nations conference aimed at advancing international recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with no new date set.
The UN summit — originally scheduled for June 16–18 — was delayed after Israel launched a sweeping preemptive strike on Iran, targeting military installations and nuclear facilities in what officials said was an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat.
Last month, Macron said that recognizing “Palestine” was “not only a moral duty but a political necessity.” The comments followed him saying in April that France was making plans to recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference it would co-host with Saudi Arabia. Israeli and French Jewish leaders sharply criticized the announcement, describing the decision as a reward for terrorism and a “boost” for Hamas.
The French people largely seem to agree now is not the right time for such a move. A survey conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) on behalf of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews, found that 78 percent of respondents opposed a “hasty, immediate, and unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state.”
Sondage Crif x Ifop : “Le regard des Français sur la reconnaissance par la France de l’État palestinien”
Une large majorité de Français (78 %) s’oppose à une reconnaissance immédiate et sans condition de l’État palestinien. Parmi eux, près de la moitié (47 %) estiment qu’une… pic.twitter.com/AX9gP6eMLe
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) June 17, 2025
France’s initiative comes after Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state last year, claiming that such a move would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region.
According to IFOP’s recent survey, however, nearly half of French people (47 percent) believe that recognition of a Palestinian state should only be considered after the release of the remaining hostages captured by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, while 31 percent oppose any short-term recognition regardless of future developments.
The survey also reveals deep concerns about the consequences of such a premature recognition, with 51 percent of respondents fearing a resurgence of antisemitism in France and 50 percent believing it could strengthen Hamas’s position in the Middle East.
France has experienced an ongoing record surge in antisemitic incidents, including violent assaults, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
According to local media reports, France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN conference was expected to be contingent on several conditions, including a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas, reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA) — which is expected to take control from Hamas after the war — economic recovery, and the end of Hamas’s terrorist rule in the war-torn enclave.
The PA has not only been widely accused of corruption and condemned by the international community for its “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for attacks against Israelis, but also lacks public support among Palestinians, with only 40 percent supporting its return to govern the Gaza Strip after the war.
Out of the 27 total European Union member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have also recognized a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Germany, Portugal, and the UK have all stated that the time is not right for recognizing a Palestinian state.
The post Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections
Thousands of participants and spectators are gathering along Fifth Avenue to express support for Israel during the 59th Annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, on June 2, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
Amid a record wave of antisemitic attacks and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, leaders from nearly 100 Jewish communities and over 30 national organizations across the US will descend on Washington, DC next week for an “emergency mission” aimed at pressing the federal government to bolster protections for Jewish Americans and increase support for Israel.
The meeting will be organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The two-day gathering scheduled for June 25–26 will convene representatives from groups representing approximately 7.5 million American Jews. Participants plan to meet with members of Congress and the Trump administration to demand “strong and aggressive action” to thwart a surge in antisemitic violence and rhetoric, according to a press release.
“We are facing an unprecedented situation in American Jewish history where every Jewish institution and event is a potential target for antisemitic violence,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “This is domestic terrorism, plain and simple, and defeating this campaign of terror is the responsibility of government.”
The meeting comes on the heels of a string of attacks on Jewish and pro-Israeli targets in places such as Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colorado, and amid growing fears over Iran’s role in backing groups hostile to Israel. Organizers link the current wave of antisemitism to the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which over 1200 people were killed and 251 hostages were abducted.
In the 20 months since the Oct. 7 massacre, the United States has seen a dramatic surge in antisemitic incidents. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitism in the US surged to break “all previous annual records” last year, with 9,354 antisemitic incidents recorded. These outrages included violent assaults, vandalism of Jewish schools and synagogues, harassment on college campuses, and threats against Jewish community centers.
Some Jewish institutions have reported being forced to hire private security or temporarily close their doors due to safety concerns. At universities nationwide, Jewish students and faculty have described feeling unsafe amid anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests where some demonstrators have used antisemitic slogans or glorified violence.
“American Jews are not bystanders to global terror and domestic extremism. We are deliberate targets,” said William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents. “The federal government has a mandate to act.”
The delegation plans to advocate for a six-point policy agenda that includes expanding the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion annually, providing financial support for security personnel at Jewish institutions, boosting FBI resources to combat extremism, and strengthening enforcement of hate crime laws. It will also push for more robust federal aid to local law enforcement and new regulations addressing online hate speech and incitement.
In addition to urging legislation, leaders say they intend to thank lawmakers who have consistently supported Jewish communities and the state of Israel, especially in light of the recent barrage of rockets launched at Israeli cities from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.
“The fight for Jewish security is not just domestic — it is global,” Daroff added. “The stakes have never been higher.”
The mission underscores growing concerns among Jewish Americans who say the dual threats of domestic extremism and rising international hostility toward Israel are converging in dangerous ways — and require a coordinated federal response.
The post Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Columbia University Releases Campus Antisemitism Climate Survey
Pro-Hamas protesters at Columbia University on April 19, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism has released a “campus climate” survey which found that Jewish students remain exceedingly uncomfortable attending the institution.
According to the survey, 53 percent of Jewish students said they have been subjected to discrimination because of being Jewish, while another 53 percent reported that their friendships are “strained” because of how overwhelmingly anti-Zionist the student culture is. Meanwhile, 29 percent of Jewish students said they have “lost close friends,” and 59 percent, nearly two-thirds, of Jewish students sensed that they would be better off by electing to “conform their political beliefs” to those of their classmates.
Nearly 62 percent of Jewish students reported “a low feeling of acceptance at Columbia on the basis of their religious identity, and 50 percent said that the pro-Hamas encampments which capped off the 2023-2024 academic year had an “impact” on their daily routines.
Jewish students at Columbia were more likely than their peers to report these negative feelings and experiences, followed by Muslim students.
“As a proud alumna who has spent decades championing this institution, I found the results of this survey difficult to read,” acting Columbia University president Claire Shipman said in a statement. “They put the challenges we face in stark relief. The increase in horrific antisemitic violence in the US and across the globe in recent weeks and months serves as a constant, brutal reminder of the dangers of anti-Jewish bigotry, underscores the urgency with which all concerned citizens need to act in addressing it head-on, and the fact that antisemitism can and should be addressed as a unique form of hatred.”
Shipman added that university officials are “aware of the extent of the immense challenges faced by our Jewish students” and have enacted new policies which strengthen the process for reporting bias and prevent unauthorized demonstrations which upend the campus.
“I am confident we can change this painful dynamic. I know this because we share a commitment to protect all members of our community. We owe it to our students — and to each other,” she said.
Columbia University recently settled a lawsuit brought by a Jewish student at the School of Social Work (CSSW) who accused faculty of unrelenting antisemitic bullying and harassment.
According to court documents, Mackenzie “Macky” Forrest was abused by the faculty, one of whom callously denied her accommodations for sabbath observance and then held out the possibility of her attending class virtually during pro-Hamas protests, which according to several reports and first-hand accounts, made the campus unsafe for Jewish students. Her Jewishness and requests for arrangements which would allow her to complete her assignments created what the Lawfare Project described as a “pretext” for targeting Forrest and conspiring to expel her from the program, a plan that involved fabricating stories with the aim of smearing her as insubordinate.
Spurious accusations were allegedly made by one professor, Andre Ivanoff, who was the first to tell Forrest that her sabbath observance was a “problem.” Ivanoff implied that she had failed to meet standards of “behavioral performance” while administrators spread rumors that she had declined to take on key assignments, according to court documents. This snowballed into a threat: Forrest was allegedly told that she could either take an “F” in a field placement course or drop out, the only action that would prevent sullying her transcript with her failing grade.
Forrest left but has now settled the lawsuit she filed to get justice in terms that Columbia University has buried under a confidentiality agreement.
Columbia was one of the most hostile campuses for Jews employed by or enrolled in an institution of higher education. After Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the university produced several indelible examples of campus antisemitism, including a student who proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself and administrative officials who, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting.
Amid these incidents, the university struggled to contain the anti-Zionist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which in late January committed an act of infrastructural sabotage by flooding the toilets of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) with concrete. Numerous reports indicate the attack may have been the premeditated result of planning sessions which took place many months ago at an event held by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) — a literary society, according to the Washington Free Beacon. During the event, the Free Beacon reported, ADP distributed literature dedicated to “aspiring revolutionaries” who wish to commit seditious acts. Additionally, a presentation was given in which complete instructions for the exact kind of attack which struck Columbia were shared with students.
The university is reportedly restructuring itself to comply with conditions for restoring $400 million in federal funding canceled by US Education Secretary Linda McMahon in March to punish the school’s alleged failure to quell “antisemitic violence and harassment.”
In March, the university issued a memo announcing that it acceded to key demands put forth by the Trump administration as prerequisites for releasing the funds — including a review of undergraduate admissions practices that allegedly discriminate against qualified Jewish applicants, the enforcement of an “anti-mask” policy that protesters have violated to avoid being identified by law enforcement, and enhancements to the university’s security protocols that would facilitate the restoration of order when the campus is disturbed by pro-Hamas radicals and other agitators.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Columbia University Releases Campus Antisemitism Climate Survey first appeared on Algemeiner.com.