Tesla CEO Elon Musk didn't only make a surprise appearance at the US Capitol when Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Congress but say in the PM's private box in the visitors' gallery above the House floor, alongside Netanyahu's wife Sara. He was there at the event as Netanyahu's guest -- while more than 30 members of the Congress boycotted the address amid widespread protest against Netanyahu.
Elon Musk's visit to the Capitol Hill came a day after he announced on X that his Starlink had been activated in a Gaza hospital with the support of Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
This was Netanyahu's first address to a joint meeting of Congress since Hama's October 7 attack on Israel that ignited the war.
Elon Musk traveled to Israel in November in the wake of a controversy he sparked after appearing to endorse an antisemitic post on X. Musk pushed back against accusations of antisemitism, saying that "nothing could be further from the truth."
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blasted Netanyahu's "political speech" aimed at Republicans. “He offered very few, if any details on how he was actually going to secure Israel,” Murphy said. “It was a lot of poor sloganeering, a lot of applause lines, but very little in the way of, of substance. So I knew this would be a setback for US-Israel relations.”
Congresswoman
Rashida Tlaib
, a Palestinian-American, held 'War Criminal' sign as Netanyahu spoke. “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court," Rashida earlier said.