ADL faces backlash for defending Elon Musk’s raised arm gesture | Political news

Washington, DC – After Elon Musk did obvious Nazi salute At the US President’s inauguration rally Donald TrumpThe Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was quick to defend the SpaceX founder.

The self-proclaimed anti-Semitism watchdog and “the world’s leading anti-hate organization” dismissed Musk’s raised arm on social media as “an awkward gesture in a moment of passion”. post on monday.

But a few months ago, Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the pro-Israel ADL Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika.

Activists say the contradiction between the ADL’s hasty defense Musk and its efforts to demonize Palestinians and their supporters show that the group is more focused on silencing voices critical of Israel than fighting anti-Semitism.

“The ADL is clear on where it stands,” said Beth Miller, political director of the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

“They have made it as clear as possible that they are not an authoritative source of information when it comes to anti-Semitism. In fact, they do not consider the protection of Jewish communities a priority at all.”

Miller called the ADL a “hate group” dedicated to defaming Palestinian human rights activists.

For years, ADL has been the go-to NGO for anti-Semitism, hate crimes, and the wider government and corporate world. civil rights issues.

The group has hosted top Israeli and US politicians, FBI directors, celebrities and businessmen.

The group’s annual “audit” of anti-Semitic incidents in the US — which last year included “some expressions of anti-Zionism as well as support for resistance to Israel” — is often cited by government agencies and legislation.

Still, Palestinian rights activists and US-based Muslim groups have long sounded the alarm about the ADL and its staunch support for Israel.

In recent years, the group has come under fire for being soft on right-wing figures accused of bigotry as long as they support Israel.

Those accusations grew after Musk’s gesture on Monday.

“To be clear, you are advocating the Heil Hitler salute, which is performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” the progressive congressman said. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to the ADL’s defense of Musk on social media.

“People can now officially stop listening to you as any authoritative source of information.”

To be clear, you advocate the Heil Hitler salute, performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.

People can now officially stop listening to you as any authoritative source of information. You work for them. Thank you for clarifying this crystal to everyone. https://t.co/0gLdMCU3UV

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 21, 2025

Mask gesture

Speaking at Capital One Arena after Trump’s inauguration, Musk put his hand on his chest and then quickly raised his arm as he thanked the crowd for electing the Republican president.

The 53-year-old billionaire then turned around and did it again.

His move was similar to the Nazi gesture – known as “Sieg Heil”, German for “hail victory” – a gesture rooted in ancient history. Roman greetings.

“My heart goes out to you. Thanks to you, the future of civilization is guaranteed,” Musk said.

While it’s not uncommon for politicians to extend their hands to greet the audience, the combination of Musk’s rhetoric about “civilization” and the repeated gesture raised many eyebrows.

New York University history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who writes on fascism and authoritarianism, said in a post on social media that Musk’s gesture was a “Nazi salute and also a very militant gesture.”

Musk did not elaborate on what happened, but he dismissed the accusations, saying his critics “need better dirty tricks.”

“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is so tired,” Musk he wrote In X. He later shared a post showing Democratic politicians throwing up their arms and dismissed the legacy media as “pure propaganda.”

But Matan Arad-Neeman, a spokeswoman for the Jewish progressive group IfNotNow, dismissed Musk’s apparent denial.

“I’m descended from Holocaust survivors and I know a Nazi salute when I see one, and that’s what Elon Musk did,” Arad-Niman told Al Jazeera.

He added that the ADL’s defense of Musk was “obscene.” He compared the group’s response to anti-war protesters pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been waging a devastating military campaign since 2023.

“It’s not surprising — though shameful — that the ADL has spent recent years focusing on repressing protesters for Palestinian human rights and anti-war protesters,” Arad-Neeman said.

The ADL-Musk feud

The ADL’s endorsement of Musk would have been unthinkable less than a year and a half ago, the billionaire entrepreneur threatened to sue The pro-Israel group over claims it blocked companies from advertising on X after acquiring the platform.

Musk’s attacks, which the ADL described as “dangerous and deeply irresponsible,” were also seen by critics as anti-Semitic. Some have criticized Musk for blaming the Jewish group for his new company’s shortcomings.

But just weeks after Xi accused him of “elevating” anti-Semitism, the ADL welcomed what it called the platform’s “intent” to fight anti-Semitism.

In October 2023, Greenblatt compared Musk favorably to industrialist Henry Ford, who was believed to hold anti-Semitic views, describing him as “an amazing entrepreneur and extraordinary innovator”.

Musk and the ADL appeared to bury the hatchet, X owner he answered writing: “You spoke the real truth” to a post accusing Jewish communities of promoting “dialectical hatred” against whites.

Musk visited Israel in November of that year, a few weeks after the war against Gaza, and met with the country’s leaders.

Arad-Neeman said fans should not be able to overcome their “anti-Semitism” by saying they support Israel.

“This is unacceptable,” he told Al Jazeera. “This is offensive to the vast majority of American Jews who fear people like them Proud BoysBy people like Elon Musk, by people who align with white racists and fascists like Donald Trump.

Along with his comments about the Jewish people, Musk has expressed support for far-right groups around the world.

Last month, he sparked outrage when he said only Germany’s far-right AfD party could save the country.

Musk has also taken on the work of Britain’s anti-Muslim campaign Tommy Robinsonwho is in jail for contempt of court as part of a defamation case. A court found that Robinson had falsely accused a Syrian refugee schoolboy of assaulting “young English girls”.

The ADL recently denounced Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as an “anti-Muslim bigot.”

“Our speech is being censored”

Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said he wished the ADL would take the same careful approach and benefit of the doubt that Musk offered members of the Arab and Muslim communities.

Ayoub told Al Jazeera: “This organization has a history of censoring our speech, behind our speech and freedom of expression, and this has made life difficult for many Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims and our supporters in this country.”

The ADL objected proposed mosque In New York in 2010, because it was close to the site of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, it was on the side of far-right and Islamophobic groups.

After more than a decade, the group admitted that its position on the mosque was “wrong”.

More recently, the ADL has accused protesters who support Palestinian rights, including left-wing Jewish groups, of promoting anti-Semitism.

Earlier this month, the ADL ran a story on its website about a Jewish insider criticizing CBS News for interviewing Josh Paul. Aunt RharritTwo former US officials resigned from government jobs in protest of Washington’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

The article highlighted Paul and Rharrit’s dubious affiliation with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights group.

Last year, Greenblatt criticized members of then-President Joe Biden’s administration for meeting with them. Osama SiblaniThe Michigan-based publisher of Arab American News for what he called “sympathy” for Hezbollah and Hamas.

The ADL has also been an uncompromising supporter of Israel’s war on Gaza, as rights groups and United Nations advocates have described. like genocide.

Ayoub said it’s easy to get behind the ADL’s “mission on paper”: fighting hate and bigotry. But more people are becoming aware of the group’s actual positions, he added.

“We’re starting to see a crack in their support and we’re starting to see people calling them out, especially on things like defending Elon Musk at the speed they’re doing,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.

The ADL did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.

On Tuesday, Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish group, began circulating a petition urging the ADL to withdraw its protection of Musk.

“The ADL claims to be an expert on anti-Semitism,” the petition said.

“They are quick to slander pro-Palestinian students, black and brown elected officials, writers and professors with accusations of anti-Semitism. But when the world’s richest man gave the Nazi salute, and the whole world was watching, they stood up for him?”