Ford apologizes for X post declaring ‘Israel is a terrorist state’
Dearborn-based carmaker says account was ‘briefly compromised,’ investigation underway into pro-Palestinian statements against Israel
JTA — For a few hours on Monday, anyone tuning into the Ford Motor Company’s X account could see three pro-Palestinian tweets that had nothing to do with the car company’s business.
“Free Palestine,” said the first message. Another followed a minute later: “Israel is a terrorist state.” Moments later, a third: “ALL EYES ON GAZA.”
The messages were soon deleted and Ford said in a statement that they had not been permitted.
“Our X account was briefly compromised and the previous three posts were not authorized or posted by Ford,” the company said. “We are investigating the issue, and apologize for any confusion caused.”
The incident comes nearly 15 months into the war sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel, which has ignited fierce criticism of Israeli operations in Gaza. It carried particular resonance because of Ford’s headquarters in Detroit, an area with a large Arab-American population where pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel advocacy has been strong, and because of the company’s history of antisemitism emanating from its founder, Henry Ford.
Ford’s record of antisemitism included using a newspaper he owned to spread antisemitism, including the notorious forgery “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” (A Jewish production company is currently trying to turn a 2012 book about the Dearborn Independent into a feature-length film.)
Screenshots of the deleted anti-Israel posts, which circulated on social media, drew applause and condemnations.
US Representative Ritchie Torres, a pro-Israel Democrat from New York, tweeted that the “Ford Motor Company must have been hacked by the Free Palestine movement.” Many in his hundreds of comments said they suspected that a Ford employee had forgotten which account was active before tweeting.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
