Elon Musk is not Jewish (he attended Anglican day school in South Africa) — in fact he’s not even particularly religious, but he does have ties to Israel and antisemitism.
The tech executive recently returned from a trip to Israel amid a temporary truce between the Jewish State and Hamas. The billionaire tech executive met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and toured locations that Hamas attacked on Oct. 7.
The trip occurred one week after Musk endorsed a post on X, which was universally condemned as antisemitic and supportive of the “Great Replacement Theory.” Musk later apologized for this endorsement, acknowledging the problematic nature of the post.
Musk — the owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX — has been accused of promoting antisemitic theories and tolerating hate speech on his social media platform.
Let’s unpack Musk’s ties to antisemitism and his relationship with Israel.
Read more: Who are the celebrities supporting Israel during the war?
Amid criticism for promoting antisemitism, Musk voiced his support for Israel
After the atrocities of October 7 and amid criticism for promoting antisemitic content, Musk traveled to Israel last Monday. During his trip, he toured the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which had been attacked, and spoke with the country’s leaders.
Kfar Aza was home to 4-year-old Abigail Edan, an Israeli-American hostage who was released on Sunday.
Read more: Hamas’s brutal attacks on Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Kfar Aza
In a live conversation on X with Netanyahu, Musk underscored that Israel must destroy Hamas.
“Those who are intent on murder must be neutralized. Then the propaganda must stop,” he said. “They’re just training people to be murderers.”
“It certainly has been an emotionally difficult day to see the places where people were murdered,” the entrepreneur added.
He outlined three things he thinks need to happen in Gaza: taking out Hamas, reforming the education in Gaza “so that a new generation of murderers is not trained to be murderers,” and “making Gaza prosperous.” He also expressed a willingness to contribute to these efforts.
Israeli president Herzog urged Musk to address rising antisemitism on X
According to a memo from Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office, Herzog urged Musk to address the rise of antisemitism on X and the persistent hate speech on the platform.
Since Musk took over X, hate speech has skyrocketed on X. The South African entrepreneur refers to himself as a“free speech absolutist” and does not believe in online censorship.
Upon taking control of the company formerly known as Twitter, Musk relaxed content regulation policies, allowing an increase in hate-fueled tweets that are not immediately flagged or deleted by content moderators — a branch of X that Musk slashed in numbers.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which tracks antisemitic tweets on X and how many are removed, said the company went from deleting 60 percent of the posts to only 30 percent.
Herzog reportedly told Musk, “Unfortunately, we are inundated with antisemitism, which is hatred of Jews. I think we need to fight this together because the platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a large reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews, antisemitism.”
Despite his libertarian policy on free speech, in November, Musk announced that X users who use terms like “decolonization,” “from the river to the sea,” and other phrases implying genocide or clear calls for violence will be suspended from the social media platform. He stated, “Anyone calling for a genocide of any people will be suspended.”
In response to a user who characterized “decolonization” as the “woke version of jihad,” Musk wrote, “Yes, ‘decolonization’ necessarily implies a Jewish genocide, thus it is unacceptable to any reasonable person.”
Musk visited Masada in Israel in 2018
Musk’s recent trip was his third to Israel. His first visit in 2016, kept discreet, involved touring the Jerusalem offices of automotive chipmaker Mobileye. His subsequent trip in 2018 was more public, with Musk sharing his experiences on social media.
During the spring break vacation with his children, Musk visited Masada, captioning a now-deleted photo on Instagram, “live free or die.” Masada is an ancient fortification in southern Israel and a popular tourist destination known for the mass suicide of Jewish rebels during the First Jewish-Roman War.
Musk also met with Netanyahu during the 2018 visit and reportedly referred to Israel as a “technological power.” He also praised the Negev desert as “the energy future of the State of Israel.”
Musk has supported antisemitic theories following his purchase of Twitter
Musk has supported antisemitic theories following his purchase of Twitter
Despite his statement of support for Israel, in recent months, Musk has supported antisemitic theories multiple times.
In November, after an X user wrote, “Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” Musk replied, “You have said the actual truth.”
The claim that Jewish people are “anti-white” is popular in antisemitic, white supremacist communities. The post Musk endorsed also invoked the white nationalist belief that “hordes of minorities” are flooding the U.S through Jewish aid to reduce the proportion of white Americans.
Read more: White replacement theory’s antisemitic origins
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded to Musk’s statement in an interview with Mediaite, saying, “We’re living in perilous times. And that’s why it was so deeply problematic and dangerous when the owner of X validated an awful antisemitic theory to his 160 million followers or so.”
The White House even weighed in on Musk’s message, blasting it as antisemitic.
“We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie…one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
X lost Disney, Apple, Lionsgate, Paramount, the European Union, and IBM as advertisers following Musk’s tweet and additional behavior they deemed antisemitic.
IBM, for example, said that the company pulled out of X a report from MediaMatters showed that its ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi materials.
After facing this backlash, Musk clarified that his criticism “does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL.”
Musk apologized for endorsing the antisemitic tweet
Following massive backlash to his post on X, Musk apologized Wednesday for “the worst” social media post he’s ever written at the New York Times DealBook Summit in New York.
“It was foolish of me,” Musk said. “Of the 30,000 it might be literally the worst and dumbest post I’ve ever done. I’ve tried my best to clarify six ways from Sunday, but you know at least I think it’ll be obvious that in fact far from being antisemitic, I’m in fact philosemitic.”
In his apology during an interview with Aaron Ross Sorkin, Musk articulated his reasoning behind the controversial tweet.
He suggested that Jewish communities, due to their history of being an oppressed minority, often feel compelled to support various oppressed groups and causes through different non-profit organizations.
He highlighted that some of these organizations and their members support Hamas. Musk stated that Jewish people should reconsider their support for any organizations that seek their elimination.
During the interview, Musk also ripped the many advertisers who left X over concerns of rising antisemitism.
He argued that these advertisers are employing a double standard, boycotting his platform while ignoring similar issues of increasing hate speech on other platforms that they continue to support.
“I don’t want them to advertise,” Musk said. “If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising or money go f**k yourself. Go. F**k. Yourself.”
Elon Musk vs. the ADL
Since taking over the company formerly known as Twitter, Musk has bashed the ADL multiple times.
Each year, the ADL releases a report discussing hate speech on social media. In 2022, it announced that antisemitism spiked on X.
Following the report’s release, Musk accused the ADL of trying to shut down the website by “falsely accusing it and me of being antisemitic.” He also threatened to sue the nonprofit organization for defamation.
Musk said the ADL tried to “kill” X’s business and blamed it for a 60% drop in revenue from advertising sales. However, most of these advertisers say they pulled out of X due to Musk’s conduct and hate speech on the platform.
In June, researchers reported that English-language antisemitic tweets have more than doubled since Musk took over the company.
Despite Musk’s claims of having “no choice” but to sue the organization, no lawsuit has been filed.
Musk has promoted accounts spreading misinformation about the war in Israel
In the days following Hamas’s attack on Israel, Musk promoted accounts that spread misinformation about the war and antisemitic hate speech.
Musk initially recommended accounts like @WarMonitors and @sentdefender for real-time war updates but later criticized them for spreading false information. His initial endorsement was viewed over 11 million times before he deleted it.
The account @WarMonitors wrote that “twenty martyrs (numerous families) murdered in an airstrike on their home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza” on Oct. 8.
“‘Martyrs is not an objective or accurate word, nor is ‘murdered,’” Musk wrote, after initially endorsing the account.
“The former implies dying for a cause in battle and the latter implies a deliberate attempt to kill those specific people. While reporting both sides is fair, please use maximally accurate words or I must withdraw my recommendation to follow your account,” he continued.
In a subsequent tweet, Musk emphasized the importance of using accurate language in reporting and clarified his commitment to maximizing the accuracy of information on the platform.
Netanyahu and Musk hosted a live stream in September
In September, Netanyahu visited the U.S. and met with Musk at a California Tesla factory.
They hosted an hour-long live-streamed conversation on X, in which the duo frequently praised each other and discussed the dangers and possibilities of AI.
In comments on X, many condemned the meeting due to Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul and allegations of Musk’s antisemitism.
At one point, Netanyahu spoke about his controversial judicial reform plan, which would significantly weaken Israel’s Supreme Court.
“Balance between the three branches of government — that’s what I’m trying to achieve, nothing more,” Netanyahu said. “It’s not an easy thing to be maligned — I know you’ve never seen that, right?”
“Me, maligned?” Musk said, laughing. “Never.”
Later during the livestream, Netanyahu urged Musk to take greater responsibility for disavowing hate speech and antisemitism on X.
“I hope you can find, within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to not only stop antisemitism as best you can, but any collective hatred of the people that antisemitism represents,” the prime minister said.
Musk’s tweet about George Soros
In a tweet on May 15, Musk compared George Soros — a Jewish philanthropist who is often at the center of antisemitic conspiracy theories — to the fictional villain Magneto.
For those who are not Marvel superfans, Magneto seeks to conquer the world and replace humanity with mutants. Like Soros, Magneto is a Jewish Holocaust survivor.
It’s an odd comparison, to say the least. However, the fictional character does share some biographical similarities with real-life Soros, as both are Jewish and survived the Holocaust.
Musk later “apologized” for the accusation, adding sarcastically, “it was really unfair to Magneto.”
It was really unfair to Magneto
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 17, 2023
However, Musk later doubled down on his statement and attack on Soros.
When one Twitter user pushed back on Musk’s comparison — noting that Soros “gets attacked nonstop for his good intentions which some Americans think are bad merely because they disagree with his political affiliations” — Musk replied: “You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.”
You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2023
Greenblatt, the ADL CEO, expressed concern that Musk’s comments were “dangerous” and would embolden those who contrive anti-Jewish conspiracy theories “and have tried to attack Soros and Jewish communities as a result.”
The Hungarian-born billionaire investor and philanthropist often donates political contributions to liberal causes, which have made him a target for right-wing extremists and conspiracists.
In the antisemitic conspiracies against him, Soros is often depicted as a puppet master manipulating global events for his own personal gain. These theories evoke historical, antisemitic tropes of Jews “controlling” banks and exerting secret control over society.
Accusations of antisemitism have swirled around Musk
Musk has faced other accusations of antisemitism. In a now-deleted tweet in 2022, Musk compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Hitler.
In the tweet, Musk expressed support for protests against vaccine mandates in Canada. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt denounced the comparison as “inappropriate and offensive,” while the American Jewish Committee called for Musk to apologize.
Originally Published Nov 30, 2023 05:59PM EST