ADL faces backlash for defending Elon Musk's raised hand gesture | Politics News

Washington, DC – After Elon Musk did an obvious Nazi salute at a rally for the inauguration of 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 organization” dismissed Musk's raised hand as an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” on social media post on Monday.

Months earlier, however, Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the staunchly pro-Israel ADL, compared Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika.

Activists say the contrast between the ADL's hasty 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 fighting anti-Semitism.

“The ADL is crystal clear about where it stands,” said Beth Miller, political director of 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 don't really prioritize the protection of Jewish communities at all.

Miller called the ADL a “hate group” dedicated to smearing Palestinian rights defenders.

For years, the ADL has been the NGO of choice for government agencies and the corporate world when it comes to anti-Semitism, hate crimes and more civil rights issues.

The group has hosted senior Israeli and American politicians, FBI directors, celebrities and businessmen.

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

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

The group has come under increased criticism in recent years for being perceived to have gone soft on right-wing figures accused of bigotry as long as they support Israel.

Those accusations escalated after Musk's gesture on Monday.

“Just to be clear, you are defending the Heil Hitler salute, which was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media in response to the ADL's defense of Musk.

“Now people can officially stop listening to you as some sort of reputable source of information.”

Just to be clear, you are defending the Heil Hitler salute, which is performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.

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

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

Musk's gesture

While speaking at Capital One Arena after Trump's inauguration, Musk placed a hand on his chest, then quickly raised his hand as he thanked the crowd for electing the Republican president.

Then the 53-year-old billionaire turned around and did it again.

His move resembled the Nazi gesture – known as “Sieg Heil”, German for “hail victory” – which has roots in ancient Roman greetings.

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

While it's not unusual for politicians to extend their hands to greet an audience, the combination of Musk's rhetoric about “civilization” and the repeated 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 very militant, too.”

Musk has not provided a detailed explanation for what happened, but dismissed the allegations, saying his critics “need better dirty tricks.”

“The 'Everybody's Hitler' Attack Is So Tired,” Musk wrote on X. He later shared a post showing Democratic politicians with their hands up and dismissing legacy media as “pure propaganda.”

But Matan Arad-Nieman, a spokesman for IfNotNow, a Jewish progressive 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-Nieman told Al Jazeera.

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

“It's not surprising — though it's a shame — that the ADL has spent recent years focusing its attention on promoting repression of Palestinian human rights protesters and anti-war protesters,” Arad-Nieman said.

ADL-Musk feud

The ADL's endorsement of Musk would have been unthinkable less than a year and a half ago, when the billionaire entrepreneur threatened to sue the pro-Israel group over allegations that it prevented companies from advertising on X after it acquired the platform.

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

But weeks after accusing X of “raising” anti-Semitism, the ADL welcomed what it called the platform's “intention” to tackle anti-Semitism.

In October 2023 Greenblatt described Musk as an “amazing entrepreneur and extraordinary innovator,” comparing him favorably to pioneering industrialist Henry Ford, who is believed to have held anti-Semitic views.

Even after Musk and the ADL showed up to bury the hatchet, the owner of X answered to a post accusing Jewish communities of promoting “dialectical hatred” against white people, writing: “You spoke the real truth.”

Musk visited Israel in November of that year, weeks after the war on Gaza, and met with the country's leaders.

Arad-Nieman said bigots should not be able to “wave their anti-Semitism” by saying they support Israel.

“This is unacceptable,” he told Al Jazeera. “This is offensive to the majority of American Jews who are appalled by people like the proud boysfrom people like Elon Musk, from people like Donald Trump who accommodate white racists and fascists.

In addition to 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 party, the AfD, could save the country.

Musk also took up the cause of the British anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinsonwho is in jail for contempt of court as part of a defamation case. The 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.”

“Censoring our speech”

Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said he wants the ADL to extend the same careful approach and benefit of the doubt it offers Musk to members of the Arab and Muslim communities.

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

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

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

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

Earlier this month, the ADL featured a Jewish insider story on its website criticizing CBS News for interviewing Josh Paul and Hello Raritytwo former US officials who left their government posts to protest Washington's support for Israel's war on Gaza.

The article highlights an unclear relationship that Paul and Rarity 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 them Osama Siblanipublisher 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 human rights groups and UN advocates have described as 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 true positions, he added.

“We're starting to see a crack in their support and we're starting to see people calling them out, especially for things like protecting Elon Musk at the rate 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 calling on the ADL to withdraw its defense of Musk.

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

“They are quick to vilify pro-Palestinian students, black and brown elected officials, writers and professors over accusations of anti-Semitism. But when the richest man in the world gave a Nazi salute while the world watched, they came to his defense?'