ADL excuses Musk salute as ‘awkward gesture’
The ADL’s statement immediately received criticism from Jews terrified about the apparent ‘Heil Hitler’ salute
Elon Musk’s gesture during an Inauguration Day rally ignited debate over whether he intended to deliver what looked like a Nazi salute, Jan. 20, 2025. (Screenshot) Photo by Getty Images
By Mira Fox January 21, 2025
Elon Musk thrust his arm stiffly out from his chest at an inauguration event on Monday, igniting a debate about whether it was a Sieg Heil salute, or just happened to look a whole lot like one.
Far-right figures including Gab founder and proud Christian nationalist Andrew Torba expressed excitement about the gesture, and an Ohio Proud Boys chapter celebrated in their Telegram channel. “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it,” posted Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe. Jews and minorities online, meanwhile, panicked.
But despite the celebration of the apparent salute by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, and Musk’s history of endorsing antisemitic conspiracies online, the Anti-Defamation League issued a moderate response, urging Americans to assume the best.
“It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the organization wrote on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. “In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
This struck a sharp contrast with the responses of other Jewish organizations and leaders, many of whom raised the alarm about the meaning and impact of a Trump administration official and powerful billionaire even appearing to execute a Nazi salute on a national stage.
“On the same day that Trump’s top advisor Elon Musk appeared to twice give the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute, Trump made good on his promise to be a ‘dictator on day one,’” said Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, in a statement. “Today was Day One, and it was a good one for antisemites, white supremacists, and other dangerous right-wing extremists.”
The ADL’s response was even at odds with that of its former longtime director, Abe Foxman, who saw the gesture as a clear Sieg Heil. “Elon Musk may be the world’s richest man but that does not excuse his thanking the Trump supporters with a Heil Hitler Nazi salute,” he wrote on X. “In addition to supporting Germany’s neo-Nazi party in the next elections, it is a very disconcerting image.”
Asked what he thought of the ADL’s response, Foxman wrote in an email: “My tweet speaks for itself.”
The ADL’s statement received immediate rebuke online, with many complaining that the organization holds the left and the right to different standards for antisemitism.
“A 19-year-old student says ‘Free Palestine’ — antisemitic!” posted progressive Jewish advocacy group Bend the Arc, replying to the ADL’s statement. “Musk backs Germany’s AfD and antisemitic replacement theories. Buys Twitter so Nazis load at the top. Sieg Heils multiple times. Give him the benefit of the doubt!”
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, another progressive Jewish advocacy organization, accused the organization supposedly devoted to defining and calling out antisemitism of not taking the issue seriously, posting an edited version of the ADL statement to X.
The ADL is in a tricky position politically as the Trump administration takes office. While they excused Musk’s gesture as harmless and haven’t commented on its celebration by white nationalists and neo-Nazis, they did condemn Trump’s opening executive order pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters. But though the organization has positioned itself as the ultimate arbiter of what is and isn’t antisemitism, it found itself out of step with many Jews in excusing Musk’s salute.
Perhaps the most generous read is to imagine that, in a time in which antisemitism seems likely to spike, the ADL wants to make sure that the accusation is not sapped of its power by overuse.
“We have much bigger things to worry about than what the ADL has decided was an awkward gesture,” Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s Antisemitism Czar, said in a brief phone interview. “Much bigger things to worry about.”
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
