Washington, DC – After Elon Musk made an apparent Nazi salute at an inauguration rally for United States President Donald Trump, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rushed to defend the SpaceX founder.
The self-described anti-Semitism watchdog and “leading anti-hate organization in the world” dismissed Musk’s raised arm as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” in a social media post on Monday.
Months earlier, however, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the staunchly pro-Israel ADL, compared the Palestinian keffiyeh to the Nazi swastika.
Activists say the contrast between the ADL’s hurried defence of Musk and its efforts to demonise Palestinians and their supporters shows that the group is more focused on silencing voices critical of Israel than it is on fighting 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 made it as clear as possible that they are not a reputable source of information when it comes to anti-Semitism. They are not actually prioritising the protection of Jewish communities at all.”
Miller called the ADL a “hateful group” dedicated to smearing Palestinian rights advocates.
For years, the ADL has been a go-to NGO for government agencies and the corporate world when it comes to anti-Semitism, hate crimes and broader civil rights issues.
The group has hosted top Israeli and US politicians, FBI directors, celebrities and businesspeople.
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 against Israel” — often gets cited by government agencies and legislation.
Still, Palestinian rights supporters and US-based Muslim groups have long sounded the alarm about the ADL and its stalwart support for Israel.
In recent years, the group has come under increased criticism for the perception that it has 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 a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity,” progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media in response to the ADL’s defence of Musk.
“People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now.”
Just to be clear, you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.
People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all. https://t.co/0gLdMCU3UV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 21, 2025
Musk’s gesture
While speaking at the Capital One Arena following Trump’s inauguration, Musk put his hand to his chest, then swiftly raised his arm as he thanked the crowd for electing the Republican president.
The 53-year-old billionaire then turned around and did it again.
His motion resembled the Nazi gesture — known as the “Sieg Heil”, German for “hail victory” — which has roots in an ancient Roman salute.
“My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilisation is assured,” Musk said.
While it is not uncommon for politicians to extend their arms to greet an audience, the combination of Musk’s rhetoric about “civilisation” and the repeated gesture raised many eyebrows.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University who writes about fascism and authoritarianism, said in a social media post that Musk’s gesture was “a Nazi salute — and a very belligerent one too”.
Musk has not provided a detailed explanation of what happened, but he did brush off the accusations, saying that his critics “need better dirty tricks”.
“The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk wrote on X. He later shared a post showing Democratic politicians with their arms raised and dismissed legacy media as “pure propaganda”.
But Matan Arad-Neeman, a spokesperson for IfNotNow, a Jewish progressive group, rejected Musk’s apparent 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 told Al Jazeera.
He added that the ADL’s defence of Musk was “obscene”. He juxtaposed the group’s response with its reaction to antiwar protesters pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has pursued a devastating military campaign 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 said.
ADL-Musk feud
The ADL’s backing 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 was preventing companies from advertising on X after he acquired the platform.
Musk’s attacks, which the ADL described as “dangerous and deeply irresponsible”, were also perceived by critics as anti-Semitic. Some criticised Musk for blaming a Jewish group for his new company’s sho