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Elon Musk says he’ll donate X ad revenue to hospitals in Israel and Gaza as advertisers flee over antisemitism

(JTA) – Elon Musk announced Tuesday that his social network X would be “donating all revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza to hospitals in Israel” and to a humanitarian organization operating in Gaza.
The promise comes as he faces sharp criticism that his site is helping to spread Hamas propaganda and as advertisers stage an exodus over his recent endorsement of an antisemitic post.
It was unclear how Musk was identifying or defining revenue “associated with the war in Gaza.” He named the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, which has distributed medical supplies to Gazans amid Israel’s bombardment of the region and helped evacuate hospitals targeted by Israel, as specific beneficiaries.
But in replies to his own tweet, he seemed unsure how he could route money to the group without inadvertently funneling it into Hamas, writing at one point, “Better ideas are welcome.”
“Ok, what is a better way to help kids in Gaza? Maybe just direct purchase of pediatric medical supplies?” he mused in response to a right-wing Orthodox Jewish X user, Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, who shared a video claiming that “the Red Crescent is used by Hamas for their terrorist activities.” (The Red Cross’ president met with Hamas senior leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar on Monday; on Tuesday, Israel announced that the group would be able to meet with Israeli hostages in Gaza as part of a truce deal.)
Musk’s gesture came a day after he filed a lawsuit against the liberal media watchdog Media Matters For America, which last week published examples of ads from major brands that it said X had placed next to antisemitic and white nationalist content.
Musk’s lawsuit claims that Media Matters manufactured fake data for the story, while Media Matters called the suit “frivolous.” Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton also announced Monday he was opening an investigation into Media Matters over “potential fraudulent activity” (Musk resides in the state, although X’s headquarters are in San Francisco).
Last week, Musk endorsed a tweet that shared a variant of the antisemitic “Great Replacement” theory, writing in response, “You have said the actual truth.” He also vowed to suspend any accounts that tweeted pro-Palestinian phrases including “decolonization” and “from the river to the sea,” calling them incitements to genocide.
Major brands including IBM, Disney, and Comcast distanced themselves from X over Musk’s “actual truth” tweet. But Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the antisemitism watchdog Anti-Defamation League, publicly praised him for “fighting hate.”
Greenblatt later told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the ADL would continue advertising on X and that he had been encouraged by a private meeting he held with Musk in which the mogul pledged stronger action against pro-Palestinian speech on the site.
X’s CEO, advertising industry veteran Linda Yaccarino, was reportedly at her daughter’s wedding while the latest conflict erupted. Her allies from the industry are urging her to leave X, Axios reported on Tuesday. Musk “doesn’t share our values,” one industry leader said. “He has proven to the advertising community that he is not someone you can do business with.”
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The post Elon Musk says he’ll donate X ad revenue to hospitals in Israel and Gaza as advertisers flee over antisemitism appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians

US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their land, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state,” before correcting himself.
While the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu’s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.
Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty.”
The kingdom said it valued “brotherly” states’ rejection of Netanyahu’s remarks.
“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” it said.
Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza has been upended by Tuesday’s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
Arab states have roundly condemned Trump’s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war that Israel has been waging against the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.
Trump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalizing ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
The post Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss what it described as “serious” developments for Palestinians, according to a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry on Sunday.
The summit comes amid regional and global condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
The post Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home

Relatives hug a released Thai hostage, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, as the hostages arrive in Thailand following their release, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, February 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
When Surasak Rumnao, 31, left his home in Thailand’s rural Udon Thani province three years ago to go across the world to the southern Israeli town of Yesha for agriculture work, his family never imagined they would lose touch with him for over a year when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in October 2023.
He and four others were reunited with their families this weekend after their release from captivity in Gaza.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted more than 250 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, in their October 2023 attack on Israel.
During the attack, Hamas terrorists killed more than 40 Thais and kidnapped 31 Thai laborers, some of whom died in captivity, according to the Thai government. Later that year, the first group of Thai hostages was returned.
Surasak’s mother, Khammee Rumnao, was relieved that her son was not mistreated and has returned to his home, about 620 km(385 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangkok.
“He mainly got to eat bread, he was looked after well and was fed all three meals (each day). He got to shower, he was looked after well,” Khammee said, and that he ate whatever his captors had.
Her son does not plan to go back and wants to use the knowledge he gained in his agricultural work in Israel at their home, she said.
His grandparents and other relatives came to their home to welcome him home.
His stepfather, Janda Prachanan, was elated.
“I couldn’t find the words to describe how happy I am, that my son is safe and finally home,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the other returnees, dressed in winter jackets, were met with tears of joy from their families who were waiting for their arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“We are all deeply touched to come back to our birthplace … to be standing here,” said Pongsak Thaenna, one of the returnees said. “I don’t know what else to say, we are all truly thankful.”
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who met the hostages in Israel after their release last week, expressed relief.
“This is emotional … to come back to the embrace of their families,” he said. “We never gave up and this was the fruit of that.”
Before the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, making them one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the October 7 attacks.
The workers primarily come from Thailand’s northeastern region, an area comprising villages and farming communities that is among the poorest in the country.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said a Thai national is still believed to be held captive by Hamas.
“We still have hope and continue to work to bring them back,” Maris said, adding that this includes the bodies of two deceased Thai nationals.
The post Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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