The Road to Canossa

Musk in Israel

A bit of history that you may or may not have known, involving the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (1050 - 1106). A memorable event in his reign has been termed "the road to Canossa," which occurred after his defiance of Pope Gregory VII resulted in excommunication and a papal decree dispensing Henry's subjects from obedience to their ruler. Faced with imminent disaster, in 1077, Henry petitioned for absolution. The penance exacted was that he should walk barefoot to Canossa (in Italy) and wait outside the castle until summoned. Contemporary accounts (not independently verified) tell that he was forced to beg for forgiveness on his knees, waiting for three days and nights outside the castle gate, wearing a hair shirt, while a blizzard raged. But eventually he was admitted, pled his case, expressed loyalty and obedience, kissed the ring, and was reinstated.

Flash forward: Musk of X, after his endorsement of an absurd antisemitic post on the erstwhile social media platform Twitter, lost advertising accounts from nearly a dozen major corporations. The ever-resourceful Musk then decided to go to Israel and meet Netanyahu. You'd think, in the face of his bigotry, a visa wouldn't have been granted, but let's just say a private fortune of $200 billion will always be respected. Not barefoot, not in a blizzard, and no ring-kissing;