Washington, DC – After Elon Musk a obvious Nazi blessing at the inauguration rally for the President of the United States Donald Trumpthe Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to defend the SpaceX founder.
The self-described anti-Semitism watchdog and “world's leading anti-hate agency” dismissed Musk's raised arm as “an odd gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” on social media mail Monday.
Months earlier, however, Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the staunchly pro-Israel ADL, compared Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika.
Activists say the difference between the ADL's hasty defense of him Musk and its efforts to silence Palestinians and their supporters show that the group is more focused on silencing voices critical of Israel than it has been on fight against 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 reputable source of information when it comes to anti-Semitism. They do not really 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 an NGO for government agencies and the corporate world when it comes to anti-Semitism, hate crimes and more broadly. civil rights issues.
The organization has hosted leading Israeli and US politicians, FBI directors, celebrities and businessmen.
The group's annual “survey” of anti-Semitic incidents in the US – which last year included “some anti-Zionist views, as well as support for the struggle against Israel” – often called by government agencies and legislation.
However, Palestinian rights supporters and US-based Muslim groups have sounded the alarm about the ADL and its strong support for Israel.
In recent years, the group has come under increasing criticism for allegedly going soft on right-wing figures accused of bigotry, while supporting to Israel.
Those accusations intensified after Musk's move on Monday.
“Just to be clear, you are defending the Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” a progressive spokesman said. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez he wrote on social media in response to the ADL's defense of Musk.
“People can officially stop listening to you as any kind of reputable source of information now.”
Just to be clear, you are defending the Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.
People can officially stop listening to you as any kind of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear for all. https://t.co/0gLdMCU3UV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 21, 2025
Musk's move
While speaking at Capital One Arena after Trump's inauguration, Musk placed his hand on his chest, then quickly raised an arm as he thanked the crowd for electing a Republican president.
The 53-year-old billionaire then turned around and did it again.
His move was similar to the Nazi gesture – known as the “Sieg Heil”, German for “victory of hail” – which has roots in ancient Roman Blessings.
“My heart goes out to you. It's thanks to you that the future of civilization is certain,” Musk said.
While it's not unusual for politicians to extend their arms to greet an audience, the combination of Musk's rhetoric on “civilization” and the gesture raised many eyebrows.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University history professor who writes about fascism and authoritarianism, said in a social media post that Musk's gesture was “a Nazi salute — and one to good fake too”.
Musk has not given a detailed explanation of what happened, but dismissed the allegations, saying his critics “need better dirty tricks”.
“The attack 'everyone is Hitler' is so tired,” Musk write on X. He later shared a post showing Democratic politicians with their arms raised and dismissing the legacy media as “pure propaganda”.
But Matan Arad-Neeman, a spokesman for IfNotNow, a progressive Jewish group, rejected Musk's apparent denial.
“I'm a descendant of 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 called the ADL's defense of Musk “fantastic.” He added the group's response to its comments on anti-war activists pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been pursuing a devastating military campaign since 2023.
“It's not surprising—though it's a shame—that the ADL has spent the last few years focusing its attention on attacking Palestinian human rights activists and antiwar activists. ,” said Arad-Neeman.
ADL-Musk may
ADL's support for Musk would have been unthinkable less than a year and a half ago, when the billionaire entrepreneur threaten to sue the pro-Israel group over allegations that they blocked companies from advertising on X after it acquired the platform.
Critics also saw Musk's attacks, which the ADL described as “dangerous and highly irresponsible”, as anti-Semitic. Some criticized Musk for blaming a Jewish group for the shortcomings of his new company.
But weeks after he accused X of “inciting” anti-Semitism, the ADL welcomed what it called the platform's “intention” to address anti-Semitism.
In October 2023, Greenblatt described Musk as “an amazing entrepreneur and an amazing innovator”, comparing him to modern businessman Henry Ford, who is widely believed to have raise anti-Semitic attitudes.
Even after Musk and the ADL showed up to bury the adchet, owner of X answered to a post accusing Jewish communities of promoting “dialectic hatred” against white people by writing: “You have said the real truth”.
Musk visited Israel in November of that year, weeks after the war against Gaza, and met with the country's leaders.
Arad-Neeman said bigots should not be able to “dispel their anti-Semitism” by saying they support Israel.
“It's impossible,” he told Al Jazeera. “It is offensive to the majority of American Jews who are afraid of such people the Proud Boyswith people like Elon Musk, with people like Donald Trump who like white supremacists and fascists.”
In addition to his comments on Jews, Musk has shown support for far-right groups around the world.
Last month, he sparked outrage when he said that only Germany's far-right party, the AfD, could save the country.
Musk has also raised the issue of a British anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinsonwho is in jail for contempt of court as part of a contempt case. A court found that Robinson had falsely accused a refugee schoolboy from Syria of assaulting “young English girls”.
The ADL recently denounced Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as an “anti-Muslim bigot”.
'Censoring our speech'
Abed Ayoub, the executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said he wanted the ADL to extend the same cautious approach and benefit of the doubt it gave Musk to members of Arab and Muslim communities.
“This group has a history of censoring our speech and going after our speech and freedom of expression, and it has made life difficult for many Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims and our people -support in this country,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
The ADL opposed a mosque proposed in New York in 2010 because it was near the site of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center, side by side with far-right and Islamophobic groups.
The group admitted more than a decade later that its position on the mosque was “wrong”.
Recently, the ADL has accused activists who support Palestinian rights – including left-wing Jewish groups – of promoting anti-Semitism.
Earlier this month, the ADL published on its website a story of a Jewish reporter criticizing CBS News for interviewing Josh Paul and Halla Rharrittwo former US officials who left their government jobs in protest against Washington's support for Israel's war on Gaza.
The article highlighted Paul and Harry's unclear relationship with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights group.
Last year, Greenblatt challenged members of then-President Joe Biden's administration to meet Osama Siblanipublisher of the Michigan-based Arab American News, about what he called “sympathy” for Hezbollah and Hamas.
The ADL has also been an unequivocal supporter of Israel's war on Gaza, which rights groups and United Nations advocates have described as as a race.
Ayoub said it's easy to get behind the ADL's “mission on paper”: fight hate and bigotry. But more people are becoming aware of the real situation of the group, he said.
“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 pace they did,” 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 asking the ADL to withdraw its defense of Musk.
“The ADL claims to be an expert on antisemitism,” the petition reads.
“They are quick to discredit pro-Palestinian students, Black and brown elected officials, writers, and professors on accusations of anti-semitism. But when the richest man in the world did a Nazi salute while the world watched, they came to his defense? “
