As latest Elon Musk controversy swirls, some American Jews come to his defense
After the Tesla CEO’s hand gesture drew criticism, his Jewish support came from far beyond the ADL
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
By Louis Keene January 23, 2025
The ADL’s defense of Elon Musk — after his hand gesture resembling a Nazi salute — outraged many in the Jewish world and beyond, who felt the antisemitism watchdog had given a pass to a blatant offender. But Musk’s Jewish defenders went far beyond the ADL.
In the hours and days following the Tesla CEO’s gesture from the podium at President Trump’s inauguration celebration, many rabbis, Jewish community leaders and social media influencers rose to dismiss, downplay, or delegitimize concerns about Musk.
Some, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pointed out Musk was a friend of Israel. Others said antisemitism on college campuses posed a graver threat than any hand signal. A few called it outrage bait. And in a familiar Republican party tactic, several Jewish Musk defenders turned the attack on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“If you never call out the new Nazis on college campuses who are harassing Jews regularly, you can’t criticize Elon Musk,” David Greenfield, chief executive of Met Council, posted on X, “because you don’t actually care about Jews.”
“He visited Auschwitz and Israel after Oct. 7,” comedian Elon Gold wrote on Instagram, adding, “Also—that was not a Nazi salute.”
As right-wing extremists celebrated the moment, the Jewish pushback on the Musk criticism undercut characterization of the billionaire’s gesture as one universally offensive to Jews; the pushback also suggested ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt’s stance was no outlier. And it underscored the depth of allegiance to Trump and his allies in some Jewish spaces.
The gesture came during a four-minute speech at a Trump rally in Washington Monday following the president’s inauguration. After saying, “…it is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured, I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” Musk clapped his right hand to his chest, and then thrust it outward, palm down. He turned and repeated the motion, then returned his hand to his chest and said to the crowd, “My heart goes out to you.”
The moment prompted immediate condemnation from Holocaust historians, civil rights groups and plenty of Jewish leaders who said its resemblance to the Sieg Heil was a clear statement of antisemitism and fascism from Musk, whose political right turn in recent years has been accompanied by accusations of both. Musk’s Jewish defenders largely took up the charges of antisemitism, but left the question of fascism untouched. Musk’s support of Israel was a theme.
“Not only does Elon Musk not hate Jews, but just as, if not more importantly, he deeply understands the value and genius the Jewish tradition brings to the task of achieving civilizational abundance,” Rabbi Ari Lamm, a Jewish podcaster, wrote on X in a post later reshared by Musk.
Yossi Farro, a Chabad influencer, shared photos of Musk wearing a hostage dogtag-style necklace and him posing with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some of Musk’s defenders, who denied that his gesture looked similar to Hitler’s, expressed hope Musk — Trump’s appointee to lead the new Department of Governmental Efficiency — would disavow the connection anyway. Others said Musk did not owe an explanation because any criticism had come in bad faith.
Musk, who acquired X (then Twitter) in 2022 and is believed to be one of the three wealthiest men in the world, has neither clarified the gesture’s meaning nor apologized, in spite of the uproar surrounding it. He first addressed the incident on X, saying “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
In subsequent posts, he seemed more amused than troubled by the concern. He engaged with several posts that teased people who decried the gesture, often adding laughing emojis. And he addressed the controversy again on Thursday in a post that was full of Holocaust puns.
“Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations!” Musk’s post read, apparently in reference to Nazi party leader Rudolf Hess. “Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming 😂.”
This time, the ADL scolded Musk, and fewer Jewish voices rushed to his defense.
“It’s possible to make clear your good intentions for Jews, among all people, in order to push off unfair accusations, without turning to trolling to make your point,” Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, Chabad’s director of social media, replied to Musk. “You’re uniquely blessed to be in a position to do incredible things in this world… Let’s use it to reach the cosmos and extend the realm of understanding.”
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