By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-24 05:56:27 | Updated at 2025-01-24 09:35:11
3 hours ago
The Anti Defamation League has turned on Elon Musk after just days after defending the Tesla billionaire over his controversial inauguration salute.
The ADL - which works to combat antisemitism - initially gave Musk the benefit of the doubt over an 'awkward' hand gesture he performed twice after Donald Trump's inauguration, which some have compared to a Nazi salute.
But after the ADL deemed the action was 'not a Nazi salute' and asked the public to show Musk 'some grace' over his odd display in a 'moment of enthusiasm', the Tesla founder sparked new fury with a series of Nazi puns.
'Don't say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would've been He/Himmler!' Musk wrote.
'Bet you did nazi that coming,' he added in a final pun.
His post made light of the names of Adolf Hitler's Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess; Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels; Reichstag President Hermann Göring; and Schutzstaffel (SS) Commander Heinrich Himmler.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has now condemned the off-color remarks.
'We've said it hundreds of times before and we will say it again: the Holocaust was a singularly evil event, and it is inappropriate and offensive to make light of it,' he wrote.
The Anti Defamation League has turned on Elon Musk after previously defending his controversial inauguration salute
He used the names to issue a series of puns in a post to X on Thursday, concluding: 'Bet you did nazi that coming'
'@elonmusk, the Holocaust is not a joke.'
The official ADL X account also addressed the controversy, although without addressing Musk personally.
'Making inappropriate and highly offensive jokes that trivialize the Holocaust only serve to minimize the evil and inhumanity of Nazi crimes, denigrate the suffering of both victims and survivors and insult the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah.'
Liberals went into meltdown after Musk's awkward gesture, where he put his hand over his heart, then shot his hand out to wave to the crowd in Capital One Arena.
But conservatives have rushed to his defense, sharing photos of others, including Democrats, caught delivering similar motions.
Joe Rogan has been one of his most outspoken defenders, calling out people for playing a 'bullsh** game' of accusing 'everyone' of being a Nazi.
Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in, writing in an X post on Thursday that Musk 'is being falsely smeared.'
'Elon is a great friend of Israel,' Netanyahu added of the South African native. 'He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.'
The ADL said: 'Making inappropriate and highly offensive jokes that trivialize the Holocaust only serve to minimize the evil and inhumanity of Nazi crimes, denigrate the suffering of both victims and survivors and insult the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah'
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has now condemned the off-color remarks
'We've said it hundreds of times before and we will say it again: the Holocaust was a singularly evil event, and it is inappropriate and offensive to make light of it,' he wrote
'He has since repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel's right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state,' the PM concluded.
Musk's father also defended the gesture during an interview with NewsNation host Chris Como.
Asked Wednesday night about the salute, Errol Musk said: 'It's absolute nonsense, it's absolute rubbish. Rubbish.'
'It's a universal salute, or, as you said, you know, throwing his heart out, I suppose, yes, that's a universal thing for thousands of years. So that's rubbish. That's a rubbish,' he repeated.
The ADL were sharply criticized for defending Musk, labeled as 'cowards' by outspoken critics who were hurt by the billionaire's actions.
