ADL Faces Criticism for Defending Elon Musk’s Raised-Arm Gesture

ADL Faces Criticism for Defending Elon Musk’s Raised-Arm Gesture

Washington, DC – After Elon Musk gave his evident Nazi salute at the inauguration celebration in support of United States President Donald Trump The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to defend Musk. SpaceX founder.

The self-described anti-Semitism watchdog as well as the “leading anti-hate organization in the world” rejected Musk’s gesture of raising his arm to the side as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” in an online message that was posted on Monday.

A few months earlier, Jonathan Greenblatt, the director of the pro-Israel group, the ADL was quoted as comparing the Palestinian Keffiyeh with the Nazi Swastika.

The difference between the ADL’s rapid defense against Musk in addition to its attempts to vilify Palestinians and their allies suggests that the group is more intent on censoring criticism of Israel rather than combating anti-Semitism.

“The ADL is being crystal clear about where it stands,” said Beth Miller, political director at Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

“They have declared as plain as they can that they are not a trustworthy source of information with regards to anti-Semitism. They do not really prioritize the security of Jewish communities in any way.”

Miller described Miller called the ADL as a “hateful group” dedicated to defaming Palestinian rights advocates.For decades the ADL is a preferred NGO for both government agencies and the business world for hate crimes, anti-Semitism and other issues. Civil rights questions .

This group hosted high-profile Israeli as well as US political figures, FBI directors, celebrities and businessmen.

The annually scheduled “audit” of anti-Semitic incidents in the US — which this year contained “certain expressions of opposition to Zionism, as well as support for resistance against Israel” is often mentioned by law enforcement agencies and government agencies.

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Yet, Palestinian rights supporters and American-based Muslim groups have for a long time sounded the alarm over ADL ADL and its unwavering commitment to Israel.

In recent times the group has been subject to increasing criticism because of the impression that it has loosened its stance when it comes to right-wing politicians that are accused of being racist, so long as they continue to support Israel.

The accusations grew more fervent after Musk’s move on Monday.

“Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on social media in response to ADL’s defense of Musk.

“People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now.”

Musk’s gesture

In his speech in the Capital One Arena following Trump’s inauguration, Musk put his hand to his chest. He quickly raised his arms as he thanked the crowd for appointing Trump as the Republican president.

The billionaire of 53 went back and repeated the same thing.

His motion was reminiscent of the Nazi gesture – popularly referred to as”Sieg Heil,” a reference to the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil”, German for “hail victory” — that is derived from an old Roman salute.

“My heart aches for you. Thanks to your efforts that our future civilization is secure,” Musk said.

While it’s not unusual for politicians to raise arm gestures to greet their audience Musk’s rhetoric regarding “civilisation” and the repeated gesture drew a lot of ire.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University who writes about authoritarianism and fascism, wrote in a Facebook post Musk’s salute is “a Nazi salute — and a very belligerent one too”.

Musk hasn’t provided an explanation in detail of what transpired, however Musk has brushed off the accusations, saying his opponents “need better dirty tricks”.

“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk wrote on X. He then shared a post that showed Democratic lawmakers with their arms raised and dismissed the legacy press as “pure propaganda”.

However, Matan Arad-Neeman who is a spokesperson for IfNotNow the Jewish progressive group, resisted Musk’s denial.

“I’m descended from Holocaust survivors, and I know a Nazi salute when I see one, and that was absolutely what Elon Musk was doing,” Arad-Neeman said to Al Jazeera.

The ADL’s stance in defense against Musk is “obscene”. He contrasted the ADL’s reaction with its stance on antiwar protesters who are calling for an end to the war in Gaza which is in which Israel has waged a devastating military operation since 2023.

“It’s not surprising — although it is shameful — that the ADL has spent recent years focusing their attention on egging on a crackdown on protesters for Palestinian human rights and antiwar protesters,” Arad-Neeman told the Guardian.

ADL-Musk feud

The ADL’s endorsement of Musk was unimaginable less than a year one-half ago when the billionaire businessman threatened to bring a lawsuit against ADL, a pro-Israel group due to claims that it had stopped businesses to advertise on X after he bought the platform.

Musk’s actions that the ADL called “dangerous and deeply irresponsible” was also seen by some as anti-Semitic. Some people criticized Musk for accusing the Jewish organization for his new company’s failures.

After the ADL had accused X for “elevating” anti-Semites, the ADL applauded it was X’s “intent” to address anti-Semitism.

In the month of October 2023, Greenblatt stated that Musk in the form of an “amazing entrepreneur and extraordinary innovator” and compared Musk to the industrialist who pioneered Henry Ford, who is widely believed to have advocated anti-Semitic beliefs.

After Musk along with the ADL seemed to have buried the hatchet however, the X owner was quick to respond to a blog post that accused Jewish communities of encouraging “dialectical hatred” against white people, posting: “You have said the actual truth”.

Arad-Neeman said that bigots shouldn’t be in a position use the excuse that they can “wave away their anti-Semitism” by claiming that they support Israel.

“It’s unacceptable,” he said to Al Jazeera. “It is offensive to the vast majority of American Jews who are terrified by people like the Proud Boys, by people like Elon Musk, by people like Donald Trump who cosy up to white supremacists and fascists.”

Apart from his comments about and comments about the Jewish population, Musk has voiced support for extremist groups around the globe.

The previous month, he provoked anger by saying that only Germany’s far-right political party, the AfD can save the country.

Musk was also able to take on the cause of British anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson, who is currently in prison for contempt of court an element of the libel trial. A judge ruled that Robinson had made a false accusation against of a Syrian schoolboy from Syria of attacking “young English girls”.

The ADL recently decried Robinson who’s legally given name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon for being an “anti-Muslim bigot”.

‘Censoring our speech’

Abed Ayoub, the executive director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Commission (ADC) has said that he would like the ADL would apply the same cautious approach and a sense of trust it gave Musk to those from Arab and Muslim communities.

“This organisation has a history of censoring our speech and going after our speech and our freedom of expression, and it has made life difficult for many Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims and our supporters in this country,” Ayoub said to Al Jazeera.

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The ADL was against the planned mosque in New York in 2010 because it was located near where the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred on the World Trade Center, siding with extremist groups and Islamophobic organizations.

They have admitted a decade later that their decision regarding this mosque is “wrong”.

Recently more recently, The ADL has accused activists who support Palestinian right to rights — which includes left-wing Jewish groups of spreading anti-Semitism.

In the last month in the ADL published on its website on its website Jewish insider report slamming CBS News for interviewing Josh Paul and Hala Rharrit the two ex- US officials who resigned their jobs in government to protest the US’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The article highlighted a hazy connection Paul as well as Rharrit have to CAIR. Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) an organization that promotes civil rights. organization.

In the past, Greenblatt slammed members of the administration of then-President Joe Biden for having a meeting in a meeting with Osama Siblani the publisher of Michigan’s Arab American News, over what he termed “sympathy” for Hezbollah and Hamas.

The ADL is also an uncompromising advocate for Israel’s conflict in Gaza and Gaza, which human rights groups as well as United Nations advocates have described as an act of genocide.

Ayoub explained that it’s simple to be a part of The ADL’s “mission on paper”: to fight bigotry and hate. However, more and more people are aware of the ADL’s real position, he explained.

“We’re starting to see a crack in their support, and we’re starting to see people call them out, especially on things like defending Elon Musk at the speed at which they did,” Ayoub said to Al Jazeera.

The ADL has not responded the request of Al-Jazeera for comments as of the time of publication.

The previous Tuesday Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish group, began to circulate an online petition urging the ADL to withdraw its support of Musk.

“The ADL claims to be an expert on antisemitism,” the petition states.

“They tend to slam the Palestinian students who are pro-Palestinian, Black and brown elected officials or writers, as well as professors for allegations of antisemitism. Yet, when the richest man donned an Nazi salute as the world watched, did they come to his to his”

Source: Al Jazeera