WASHINGTON, DC – After Elon Musk gave an apparent Nazi salute at President Donald Trump’s inaugural rally, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to the SpaceX founder’s defense.
The anti-Semitism watchdog, which calls itself “the world’s leading anti-hate organization,” called Musk’s raised arm an “awkward gesture in a moment of heat” in a social media post on Monday. I gave it a kick.
But months earlier, Jonathan Greenblatt, president of the staunchly pro-Israel group ADL, likened the Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika.
Activists say the contrast between the ADL’s rush to defend Mr. Musk and its efforts to demonize Palestinians and their supporters suggests that the group is less concerned with fighting anti-Semitism than silencing voices critical of Israel. They argue that this shows that they place emphasis on
“ADL has made its position clear,” said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
“They’ve made it as clear as possible that they’re not a reliable source when it comes to anti-Semitism. They don’t actually prioritize protecting the Jewish community at all.”
Miller called the ADL a “hate group” dedicated to smearing Palestinian rights defenders.
ADL has long been the go-to NGO for government agencies and businesses on anti-Semitism, hate crimes, and a wide range of civil rights issues.
The group has invited top Israeli and American politicians, FBI directors, celebrities, and businessmen.
The group’s annual “audit” of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. – last year’s audit included “certain expressions of opposition to Zionism and support for resistance to Israel” – shows government agencies and laws is often cited.
Still, Palestinian rights advocates and U.S.-based Muslim groups have long sounded the alarm about the ADL and its unwavering support for Israel.
The group has come under increasing criticism in recent years for its perceived tolerance of right-wing figures accused of bigotry as long as they support Israel.
Those accusations escalated after Musk’s gesture on Monday.
Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to the ADL’s defense of Musk, saying, “To be clear, you are defending the repeated Heil Hitler salute for emphasis and clarification. ” he wrote on social media.
“People will now officially stop listening to you as a reliable source of any kind of information.”
Just to be clear, you are defending the Heil Hitler salute, which was repeated for emphasis and clarity.
People can now also officially stop listening to you as a reliable source of any kind of information. you work for them. Thank you for clarifying this to everyone. https://t.co/0gLdMCU3UV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 21, 2025
Mr. Musk’s gesture
Musk, who was speaking at Capital One Arena following President Trump’s inauguration, put his hand on his heart and quickly raised his arm to thank the crowd for electing the Republican president.
The 53-year-old billionaire then turned around and did the same thing again.
His motion resembled a Nazi gesture known as “Sieg Heil,” which means “Long live victory” in German, with roots in the ancient Roman salute.
“My heart is grateful to you. It is because of you that the future of civilization is secured,” Musk said.
It’s not unusual for politicians to extend their hands to greet audiences, but the combination of Musk’s rhetoric about “civilization” and the repeated gesture raised many eyebrows.
Ruth Ben Guiat, a history professor at New York University who writes about fascism and authoritarianism, said in a social media post that Musk’s gesture was “a Nazi salute and also very bellicose.” said.
Mr. Musk did not provide a detailed explanation of what happened, but dismissed the accusations, telling his critics that he needed “more dirty tricks.”
“I’m tired of the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack,” Musk wrote to X. Musk then shared a post in which Democratic politicians threw up their sleeves and dismissed legacy media as “pure propaganda.”
But Matan Arad Neiman, a spokesperson for the progressive Jewish group If Not Now, rejected Musk’s apparent denial.
“I’m a descendant of Holocaust survivors, and I can tell when I see a Nazi salute. That’s exactly what Elon Musk was doing,” Arad-Niemann told Al Jazeera.
He added that the ADL’s defense of Musk was “obscene.” He compared the group’s response to anti-war demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been conducting a devastating military operation since 2023.
“While shameful, it is not surprising that the ADL has focused its efforts in recent years on repressing Palestinian human rights demonstrators and anti-war demonstrators,” Arad Nieman said. Ta.
ADL and Mask feud
ADL’s support for Musk comes after the billionaire entrepreneur threatened to sue pro-Israel groups for allegedly preventing companies from advertising on X after Musk acquired the platform. This would have been unthinkable a year and a half ago.
Musk’s attacks, which the ADL described as “dangerous and highly irresponsible,” were also perceived by critics as anti-Semitic. Some criticized Mr. Musk, blaming Jewish groups for the new company’s shortcomings.
But weeks after X accused it of “exalting” anti-Semitism, the ADL welcomed what it called the platform’s “intent” to address anti-Semitism.
In October 2023, Greenblatt described Musk as an “amazing entrepreneur and an extraordinary innovator” and criticized pioneering businessman Henry, who is widely believed to espouse anti-Semitic views. Compared positively to Ford.
Even after Musk and the ADL appeared to bury the issue, the owner of “I said that,” he wrote in reply.
Musk visited Israel in November of the same year, weeks after the start of the war in Gaza, and met with the country’s leaders.
Aradnyman said bigots shouldn’t be able to “shake off their anti-Semitism” by saying they support Israel.
“That is unacceptable,” he told Al Jazeera. “This is offensive to the majority of American Jews who fear people like the Proud Boys, people like Elon Musk, people like Donald Trump who favor white supremacists and fascists. It’s something.”
In addition to his comments about Jews, Musk has expressed support for far-right groups around the world.
He sparked outrage last month when he said only Germany’s far-right party, AfD, could save the country.
Musk also took up the cause of British anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson, who has been jailed for contempt of court as part of a defamation case. The court found Robinson had wrongly accused a Syrian refugee schoolboy of attacking “young British girls”.
The ADL recently denounced Mr Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) as an “anti-Muslim bigot”.
“Censor our speech”
Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), hopes the ADL will offer members of the Arab and Muslim community the same cautious approach and suspicion that Musk gave. said.
“This organization has a history of censoring our speech and pursuing our freedom of speech and expression, and this organization has a history of censoring our speech and pursuing our freedom of speech and expression, and it has harmed many Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims, and our supporters in this country. It has made life difficult for people,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
The ADL joined far-right and Islamophobic groups in opposing a proposed mosque in New York in 2010 because of its proximity to the site of the World Trade Center attacks.
More than a decade later, the group admitted its position on mosques was “wrong”.
More recently, the ADL has accused protesters supporting Palestinian rights, including left-wing Jewish groups, of promoting anti-Semitism.
Earlier this month, the ADL posted on its website a Jewish group condemning CBS News for interviewing former U.S. officials Josh Paul and Hala Harit, who quit their government jobs in protest of Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Special feature on internal affairs.
The article highlighted Paul and Lalit’s vague ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights organization.
Greenblatt was an official of then-President Joe Biden’s administration who met with Michigan-based Arab American News publisher Osama Shiblani last year, citing his “sympathies” for Hezbollah and Hamas. criticized.
ADL has also been an uncompromising supporter of Israel’s war in Gaza, which rights groups and UN advocacy groups describe as genocide.
Ayoub said achieving the ADL’s “paper mission” of fighting hatred and bigotry is easy. But more people are becoming aware of the group’s actual position, he added.
“We’re starting to see cracks in their support and people are starting to criticize them, especially in terms of their defense of Elon Musk,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
ADL had not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.
On Tuesday, the progressive Jewish group Bend the Ark began circulating a petition calling on the ADL to withdraw its defense of Mr. Musk.
“ADL claims to be experts in anti-Semitism,” the petition says.
“They are quick to smear pro-Palestinian students, black and brown elected officials, authors, and professors over accusations of anti-Semitism. Did they defend him when he gave the Nazi salute?”