Netanyahu rises to Elon Musk’s defense after X owner accused of performing Nazi salute

By Amy Spiro

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23 January 2025, 2:23 pm

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Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel

This handout photo shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara meeting with Tesla owner Elon Musk at the electric car company's factory in Fremont, California, September 18, 2023. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a message of support for Elon Musk after the X owner was accused of making a Nazi salute.

Musk “is being falsely smeared,” Netanyahu writes on X. “Elon is a great friend of Israel. He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre… [and] 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.”

“I thank him for this,” Netanyahu adds.

Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena in Washington, on January 20, 2025. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

Musk, who has been a vocal supporter and ally of US President Donald Trump, made a straight-armed gesture during the inauguration on Monday that many saw as a Nazi salute, though the ADL called it instead an “awkward gesture.” Musk has in the past shared white supremacist memes and theories on X that have drawn accusations of antisemitism.