The ADL faces a fierce defense of Elon Musk’s raised-arm action Political Affairs
Washington, DC – After Elon Musk made an apparent Nazi salute at the inauguration of the President of the United States Donald Trump, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to the defense of the founder of SpaceX.
The self-described anti-Semitic watchdog and “the world’s leading anti-hate organization” dismissed Musk’s arm as an “unsavory gesture in a moment of passion” on social media Monday.
Months earlier, however, Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the staunchly pro-Israel ADL, compared the Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika.
Activists say the contrast between the ADL’s immediate defense of Musk and its efforts to demonize Palestinians and their supporters shows that the group is more focused on silencing voices critical of Israel than on anti-Semitism.
“The ADL is very clear about where it stands,” said Beth Miller, political director at Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
“They have made it as clear as possible that they are not a reliable source of information when it comes to anti-Semitism. In fact, they do not prioritize the protection of Jewish communities at all. “
Miller called the ADL a “hate group” dedicated to smearing Palestinian rights advocates.
For years, the ADL has been the go-to NGO for government agencies and the corporate world when it comes to anti-Semitism, hate crimes and broader civil rights issues.
The group has arrested top Israeli and American politicians, FBI directors, celebrities and businessmen.
The group’s annual “survey” of anti-Semitic incidents in the US – which last year included “some expressions of anti-Zionism, and support for resistance to Israel” – is often cited by government agencies and law enforcement.
Still, Palestinian rights advocates and US-based Muslim groups have long raised the alarm about the ADL and its staunch support for Israel.
In recent years, the group has come under fire for the idea that it has gone soft on right-wing people accused of apartheid, as long as they support Israel.
Those allegations intensified after Musk’s actions on Monday.
“To be clear, you are defending the Heil Hitler salute that was made and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media in response to the ADL’s defense of Musk.
“People can legitimately stop listening to you as any kind of reputable source of information now.”
Just to be clear, he is defending the Heil Hitler salute which was repeated for emphasis and clarity.
People can legitimately stop listening to you as any kind of reputable source of information now. He works for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 21, 2025
Musk’s action
During a speech at Capital One Arena following Trump’s inauguration, Musk placed a hand on his chest, then quickly raised his arm as he thanked the crowd for electing a Republican president.
The 53-year-old billionaire then turned around again.
His move was similar to the Nazi gesture – known as “Sieg Heil”, German for “hail victory” – which derives from the ancient Roman salute.
“My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is guaranteed,” Musk said.
While it is common for politicians to extend their arms to greet the audience, the combination of Musk’s talk about “civilization” and repeated action raised many eyebrows.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University who writes about fascism and authoritarianism, said in a social media post that Musk’s actions were “a Nazi coup – and very violent”.
Musk did not give a detailed explanation of what happened, but dismissed the allegations, saying his critics “need better dirty tricks”.
“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is so tired,” Musk wrote on X. He later shared a post showing Democratic politicians with their arms raised and dismissed legacy media as “pure propaganda”.
But Matan Arad-Neeman, a spokesman for IfNotNow, a progressive Jewish group, dismissed Musk’s apparent denial.
“I come from Holocaust survivors, and I know a Nazi salute when I see one, and that’s exactly what Elon Musk was doing,” Arad-Neeman told Al Jazeera.
He added that the ADL’s defense of Musk was “obscene”. He covered the group’s response to anti-war protesters who called for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been waging a deadly military campaign since 2023.
“It’s not surprising — though it’s a shame — that the ADL has spent recent years focusing on the involvement of Palestinian human rights protesters and anti-war protesters,” Arad-Neeman said.
ADL-Musk conflict
The ADL’s support for Musk would have been unthinkable less than a year and a half ago, when the billionaire businessman threatened to sue the pro-Israel group for allegedly barring companies from advertising on X after acquiring the platform.
Musk’s attack, which the ADL described as “vicious and deeply reckless”, was also seen by critics as anti-Semitic. Some criticized Musk for blaming a Jewish group for the mistakes of his new company.
But weeks after accusing X of “raising” anti-Semitism, the ADL embraced what it called the speaker’s “intent” to address anti-Semitism.
In October 2023, Greenblatt described Musk as “an amazing businessman and an amazing inventor”, comparing him favorably to pioneering industrialist Henry Ford, who is believed to have held anti-Semitic views.
Even after Musk and the ADL appeared to bury the hatchet, the owner of X responded to a post accusing Jewish communities of inciting “dialectical hatred” against white people by writing: “You spoke the real truth”.
Musk visited Israel in November of that year, a few weeks into its war in Gaza, and met with the country’s leaders.
Arad-Neeman said bullies should not be able to “disguise their hatred of Jews” by saying they support Israel.
“It’s unacceptable,” he told Al Jazeera. “It upsets the majority of American Jews who have been threatened by people like the Proud Boys, by people like Elon Musk, by people like Donald Trump who are pro-white and authoritarian.”
Despite his comments about Jewish people, Musk has expressed support for far-right groups around the world.
Last month, he sparked outrage when he said that only Germany’s AfD party could save the country.
Musk also raised the issue of British anti-Muslim campaigner Tommy Robinson, who has been jailed for contempt of court as part of a contempt charge. A court heard that Robinson had falsely accused a Syrian immigrant schoolboy of attacking “little British girls”.
The ADL recently denounced Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as “anti-Muslim”.
‘Criticism of our speech’
Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said he wished the ADL could extend the same careful and helpful approach to the skepticism Musk is giving to members of the Arab and Muslim communities.
“This organization has a history of criticizing our speech and going after our speech and our freedom of speech, and it has made life difficult for many Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims and our allies in this country,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
The ADL opposed a proposed mosque in New York in 2010 because it was near the site of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, allied with far-right and Islamophobic groups.
The group has admitted more than a decade later that its position on the mosque was “wrong”.
Recently, the ADL has accused protesters who support Palestinian rights — including leftist Jewish groups — of inciting anti-Semitism.
Earlier this month, the ADL published on its website an internal Jewish story criticizing CBS News for interviewing Josh Paul and Hala Rharrit, two US officials who left their government jobs in protest of Washington’s opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.
The article highlighted the vague connection Paul and Rharrit have 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 Osama Siblani, publisher of the Michigan-based Arab American News, for what he called “sympathy” for Hezbollah and Hamas.
The ADL has also been a staunch supporter of Israel’s war on Gaza, which rights groups and United Nations lawyers describe as genocide.
Ayoub said it’s easy to get behind the ADL’s “paper mission”: fighting hate and racism. But most people know the true positions of the party, he added.
“We are starting to see their support, and we are starting to see people calling them out, especially for things like protecting Elon Musk at the speed he was doing,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
The ADL did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by press time.
On Tuesday, Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish group, began circulating a petition asking the ADL to withdraw its defense of Musk.
“ADL claims to be an expert on antisemitism,” the petition reads.
“They are quick to insult pro-Palestinian students, black and brown elected officials, writers and professors for allegedly being anti-Semitic. But when the richest man in the world defied the Nazis while the world watched, did you protect him?”
