Musk doubled down on his hateful gesture - the ADL shouldn’t validate it.
This is not a great time to show “grace” by granting permission for what looks like a picture-perfect impression of a Nazi-salute.
Thanks, Beth!
The current and past leaders of the ADL seem to have a difference of opinion over what Elon Musk did yesterday. Jonathan Greenblatt, the current ADL head, and Abe Foxman, ADL’s leader emeritus, were reacting to this:
Here’s Greenblatt’s response, followed by Foxman’s.
“Awkward gesture?” How does Greenblatt know that it wasn’t an intentional dog whistle? Claiming it’s anything else just doesn’t pass the schmell test. For one thing, it’s not the first time Trump was Sieg heiled on day one. Who can forget neo-Nazi Richard Spencer’s salute immediately following the 2016 election:
I’ve yet to hear an explanation for Musk’s action that makes sense. 1 Staying he was stoned or blaming his Asperger’s is unfair to the millions of people who handle similar challenges while maintaining enough self control not to send a signal of hate with the whole world watching. It would be easy for Musk or Trump to clear this up, but that is not their style. Given the Nazi-infested cesspool that X has become and Trump’s consistent refusal to disavow neo-Nazi and white supremacist supporters and their antisemitic conspiracy theories2 like “The Great Replacement,” why would they clear this up now with a simple apology? With the Proud Boys marching through Washington DC 3 yesterday, claiming ownership of the streets, Musk’s gesture needs to be seen in a more serious light by everyone, especially the ADL (to be fair, the ADL condemned the pardoning of the Jan. 6 offenders and has often stood up against the hate groups of right).
This isn’t a matter of simple distraction or owning the libs. This is about normalizing hate - and specifically neo-Nazi forms of hate. Musk is already supporting the radical right wing party in Germany’s upcoming elections, so his leanings are not hidden. After granting clemency to the criminals who violated the Capitol (aka “Camp Auschwitz”) on January 6, 2021, we know where Trump stands.
I would think Greenblatt would have at least called for a clarification and requested that such exuberant right-arm-thrusting gestures with the palm down be avoided, you know, like people avoid using the expression “final solution” when discussing an algebra problem or making ill-suited remarks about gas and ovens.4
Greenblatt could have lent his constructive criticism, politely, even, without being inflammatory. That’s how you demonstrate “grace,” not by providing a permission structure to make a grievous antisemitic mistake, when the mistake is not even acknowledged. Greenblatt could even have praised Trump’s role in working with Biden to achieve the ceasefire in Gaza (though I do not agree that the deal wouldn’t have happened without Trump5). But he did nothing of the sort.
So, despite my lifelong support for the ADL and all it stands for, my beef is nearly as much with Greenblatt as it is with Musk and Trump.
Time magazine noted that the Anti-Defamation League, “an organization whose mission is to combat antisemitism and which itself describes a ‘Hitler salute’ as one with an “outstretched right arm with the palm down…” That’s exactly what Musk did, and with enough brute force to karate chop the podium in two.
Musk could have gestured in any number of ways to show his love to the crowd. How about blowing them a kiss? A Star-Trek Vulcan Salute would have been brilliant and totally on brand. I don’t expect anyone in this administration to be a uniter-not-a-divider. But how about just not being an inciter and inflamer?
This is not a great time for right-minded people to show “grace” with regard to what looks like a picture-perfect impression of a Nazi-salute. Especially when Musk himself doubled down on it. He responded to the ADL’s defense of him with a brief thank-you and a crying/laughing emoji. Was that supposed to be a retraction? Was he laughing with or laughing at Greenblatt? As Time noted:
Musk did not directly address the controversy Monday night, though he replied to a number of posts on X about it—thanking the ADL, mocking Ocasio-Cortez, and agreeing with a post that said: “Can we please retire the calling people a Nazi thing? It didn’t work during the election, it’s not working now, it’s tired, boring, and old material, you’ve burned out its effect, people don’t feel shocked by it anymore, the wolf has been cried too many times.”
See what Musk is doing there? He is trying to delegitimize all comparisons to Nazis (and by extension fascists) to soften up the resistance of those who will be defending America from a Hungary/Putin illiberal coup over the next four years. Yesterday was the first blow, the first body punch to the torso of freedom.
It’s particularly exciting when the world’s richest man has been given the keys to country and our most vaunted anti-bias organization is showing a stunning tolerance for his hateful antics. If he didn’t mean to do a Sieg heil, as you suggest, Mr. Greenblatt, why is he not saying that? Did he tell you that privately? If so, let us in on the secret. We can call it a retraction and move on to the next affront.
I’m sorry, Mr. Musk. We don’t compare you to fascists to score political points, as you suggest; we do it because you support their leaders, parties and platforms and you want to duplicate them here in America. And even if you didn’t intend to send a dog whistle to your most radical supporters, they interpreted it that way.
Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the notorious neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, posted the clip of Musk’s salute on Telegram with a lightning-bolt emoji (evocative of the Nazi SS) and the caption: “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.”
I actually would prefer not to constantly be making comparisons between Trumpism and the Nazis, but when the analogies are so valid, it’s irresponsible to ignore them - as I demonstrated in my posting right after the election: "Worst case...in four years time we'll replace him."
If all this feels like déjà vu all over again, that’s because just a week after taking office in 2017, on International Holocaust Day, the Trump administration chose a symbolic and fitting target for their first major post-inauguration assault on truth, and it was the Holocaust.
The White House issued what should have been a routine statement commemorating the Shoah, but whether intentionally or not, someone got it very wrong.
It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust,” the statement read. “It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.
Nice wording…except for the inconvenient omission of a certain people whose name begins with “J.” Who exactly were these “innocent people?”
Lest it be forgotten: The first Trump administration’s 30,573 lies began with Holocaust denial.
Trump’s lie in rendering the Holocaust Judenrein, made even before the inauguration bleachers were taken down, was a harbinger of what would follow. Once he was allowed to get away with an act of blatant Holocaust denial, rejecting a free and fair election would become child’s play for him. One Big Lie begets another. Trump’s reign began with a simple act of Holocaust denial, and then, 30,000 lies later, it ended with “Camp Auschwitz” at the Capitol.
And now, Trump 2: The Sequel, begins with an un-retracted Sieg heil, validated and condoned by the ADL.6 This is much, much worse than what happened in 2017.
Back in 2017, Jonathan Greenblatt and the ADL wrote to the White House, offering them Holocaust training for staff. Maybe they should offer it again, with a special added session on how to avoid Nazi dog whistles.
It’s not too late for Greenblatt and Musk both to walk this back. With International Holocaust Day less than a week a way, this one marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it would be nice for Musk to accompany the US delegation or at least to say some meaningful words about the damage fascism and antisemitism have brought to this world. It goes without saying that President Trump should also speak out against antisemitism and all hate - and I think he will, not because it’s moral and right, but because he will recall how annoying it was to get so much flak for the botched Holocaust Day message last time.
Greenblatt spoke of grace in his tweet. Musk’s response reminds us that - forget about the Golden Age - America’s Graceless Age is upon us. About the nicest thing you can say about Trumpism is that it is entirely lacking in grace, which I would define along the lines of the Oxford Dictionary, as a combination of respect and courteous good will. “Courteous good will” is so last month, so Christmas and Hanukkah, so Luke 2:14 and Leviticus 19:18. You want grace? Read the Book of Ruth. 7
If Greenblatt had called for grace in the abstract - say, before yesterday afternoon - it could be seen as admirable. Extending a benefit of the doubt is what fair minded people should do. I’m ready to do that, or at least I was. I still am in some respects.
But it’s ceases to be admirable when that call for grace is met by a middle finger - raised palm down, with an exuberant outstretched right arm.
A suggestion for Mr Space X:
Live long and prosper!
Seriously, saying Musk’s gesture was not a Nazi salute is like saying this is not a Nazi walk:
Perhaps they were singing an adapted song from Cabaret:
Now Fatherland, Fatherland, show us the sign
Your children have waited to see
The morning will come
When the world is mine
Dupont Circle belongs to me
Oh wait. Sean Spicer did that, in 2017.
No question that Netanyahu was spooked by Trump’s ultimatum. But 1) had Harris won in November, Biden would no longer have been a lame duck and Bibi would have had no choice but to play ball with the Dems and 2) Trump could have backed this ceasefire plan six months ago and possibly helped to save innumerable lives. As for the plan itself, I’m overjoyed that hostages are being released and Gazans can go back to their homes - and that the Israeli government may have lost some of its most radical right wingers. But any final agreement that leaves Hamas in charge cannot be allowed to happen. Of course, that also means that the Israeli government has to allow for alternative Palestinian rule over Gaza - i.e. to have a legit “day-after” plan, which they’ve refused to do thus far. Stay tuned.
At least 20 Trump lies were counted on Day One by India Today and CNN. We’re off and running.
Read about Ruth’s grace here, Her very name means “friendship.”
Double Standards plus hate speeches. Oh wait they didn’t mean it 😂😂 bullshit
I am not sure what was worse; the ADL statement or AOC of all people goysplaining antisemitism.
Double Standards plus hate speeches. Oh wait they didn’t mean it 😂😂 bullshit
If only they were so contrite as to admit it was a misunderstanding. I haven't seen that yet.
I am not sure what was worse; the ADL statement or AOC of all people goysplaining antisemitism.
Musk is worse, but AOC's righteous indignation here is the perfect bookend to Elise Stafanik's condemnation of leftist antisemitism on campus. We need to call it out on the left and the right - but I'd rather not leave it to politicians with an axe to grind.
I love Musk´s "...the future of civilization is assured." The future of Elon Musk is assured. After he takes over NASA and really reaches Mars, leaving earth in total shambles after wars and nuclear holocausts, yes, the future of Elon Musk, on Mars, will be assured. Mazel tov dear Elon!
I´d send you there myself if I could, and, please, take all your alpha-MAGA cronies and their cheap chicks along with you! Kim in Munich
I completely agree with you. Thank you for your words.
Thank you for reading them - and responding
Thank you, Rabbi Hammerman.
I restacked with this note:
“Not on my BINGO card: Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL gaslighting Jewish and all other Americans about Leon’s Sieg Heil.
Greenblatt should resign. He’s done good work up til now, but maybe he’s feeling the fear too much to continue? I’m not angry at him if he’s afraid, but, now more than ever, the ADL needs a fearless leader, one who can laugh at Neo-Nazis so that the rest of us can laugh at them, too.”
Thanks for sharing - and I share your frustration. But I've got to believe we haven't heard the last from Greenberg on this. How can he be so sure this wasn't dog whistle?
Is it Greenberg, not Greenblatt? Lol I’m Jewish and I can’t keep our names straight.
I agree that he can fix this with an amended response and I hope he will. What he actually wrote (or approved) reads to me like the human-to-human equivalent of making the slaughter of livestock more comfortable for them.
He’s had a lot of time at this point to fix it and I’m losing faith.
I am so sorry. I can’t believe. I hate to think this, but……. Don’t be sorry. Believe. Think without self criticism in this. It is here and not listening, believing, or being sorry to “think this way”, makes us no different than the billionaire bought news media soft coating all MAGA BS. Believe the lying creeps. They are here to line their own pockets, sell their worthless trinkets and walk all over you and me.
Stay here for the help and support we need for the next four years. I hope and pray their downfall will be sooner. Now that he is sworn in, he can be impeached.
Horrifying, in the original sense if the word. But very good analysis. I hope the ADL is listening.
I can't believe ADL validated it. That's scary.
Let's hope it's just a one time thing. But calling it out is a good thing to do.
I think ADL is scared as is CNN of speaking out now. That's disturbing in itself that people are afraid of losing their jobs.
I agree 💯, thank you for calling out Musk, and Trump.
https://thespectator.com/topic/elon-musk-salute-was-weird-but-not-fascist/
The argument makes sense until you wonder why actual neo-Nazis are cheering and Musk is doing nothing to dispel the thing
I share that frustration - and hope we aren't hearing the last of this from him
It will be interesting to hear what Mr. Greenblatt has to say at the ADL conference this year. Last year he gave us the surprise of introducing Jared Kushner!
Good question, Scott. I think hs’s going to have to address this thing again sooner or later
Elon. Please go away. Most of us hate you and that’s the best thing that can be said about you. And no, you’re not the president and never will be.
I’m beyond disappointed in Greenblatt and the ADL. I’ve been a member for years and have participated with their Kulanu program for several now. I don’t understand how Greenblatt could err with this statement regarding Musk’s blatant display of Nazi behavior. Something is definitely askew. This is not “grace” - it’s betrayal!
I believe Musk knew exactly what he was doing and all the Neo-Nazi in the crowd did too. What I don't believe is that all the Maga in the crowd really know the significance of such a salute.
I say this as my 40 year old Republican DIL, not a Maga thank goodness, was at the table when my son, Republican also, and I were talking about major historical events. The subject of the holocaust came up. We were talking about all the Jewish people who had been murdered as well as all the others. My DIL had been listening and asks "What's the holocaust". It's a wonder my son and I didn't get whiplash we both turned so quickly to look at her. Our jaws may have dropped open also.
We both explained to her what it was and she concurred that the holocaust was horrendous. I asked my son if he learned about it in school? He said he didn't remember it ever being mentioned; but, that he liked to read a lot and thinks that may be where he learned about it.
With Musk's behavior, not only in the USA, but also in Germany I do NOT give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think there will an apology as he would not want to disenfranchise any of the Neo-Nazi followers that he and Trump have.
Unbelievable! Thanks for sharing this. Some states have mandated Holocaust education but not enough. I saw this Substack by Leah Eichler, which addresses the Musk thing and his (and others’) growing infatuation with Hitler. https://open.substack.com/pub/esotericamagazine/p/reductio-ad-hitlerum-part-ii?r=89j7n&utm_medium=ios
Auschwitz was published in 1946, the year that I was born. My dad was German and I remember that on at least one occasion my mother, when she got mad at him, would call him a GD Nazi. I was too young to understand the significance of that.
Where I grew up there was a thrift store that had all kinds of books. I think that must be where I got the book Auschwitz. Anyway, I went to a Catholic school and right about the time I got the book we had a retreat. One of the things we were supposed to do was to sit quietly and read religious material. I had to be in the 6th or 7th grade.
Well Miss Smarty Pants here wanted to read the book. I still see myself with the book covered by the religious book and reading it. I remember being terrified by what happened. What is even worse is that I worried for years that I was only half German and that someone could take me away and put me in such a place.
I never talked to anyone about it and simply harbored the fear until I was older and understood how to "look up things".
If it is true that most Americans only read at the 7th grade level I suspect that the Maga cultists would not comprehend the horror of WW2;thereby, not understanding the significance of Musk's salute. I don't remember it being discussed; but, then it has been over 50 years since I graduated from High School and years since I took History 1 and 2 in college.
TY for the link. It is scary to think about "So yes, Elon. Everything is coming up Hitler (you included). The question remains, what will that mean in 12 months? In two years? We are about to find out."
There is no grace. These people are nazis. Plain and simple.
Thanks for commenting. I'm not sure it's fair to generalize - it’s best to focus on the individual’s act and his refusal to diffuse the matter. I do think it's fair say thst Musk has definite affinities for neo.Nazi groups.
Yes, thank you. I was reacting and generalizing. I see that now.