Netanyahu defends Elon Musk after he’s accused of giving Nazi salute
Prime minister says billionaire X owner is ‘a great friend of Israel’ and ‘is being falsely smeared over gesture he made during Trump’s inauguration
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a message of support Thursday for Elon Musk after the world’s richest man was accused of making a Nazi salute.
Musk “is being falsely smeared,” Netanyahu wrote on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. “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 added, referring to October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led thousands of terrorists in an invasion of Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages.
Musk later thanked Netanyahu.
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.
The Nazi salute was itself borrowed from Italian fascists, who adapted it from the ancient Romans. Musk has venerated (and shared imagery of himself in) ancient Rome and has suggested America faces problems like those that led to the end of the Roman Empire.
Musk dismissed criticism of the hand gesture as a “tired” attack.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 20, 2025
At the inauguration, Musk, who was Trump’s top donor during the 2024 election, told a crowd in Washington, DC: “This is what victory feels like.” Then he saluted those in attendance, twice, with a straight-armed salute.
“My heart goes out to you,” Musk then said. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
To some of his supporters and fans, the salute appeared to be a gesture of his gratitude that was distorted as clips were shared on social media. To many others, mostly among his critics but also including some on the far right, it bore an uncanny resemblance to the straight-armed, palm-down salute of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.
Jerry Nadler, a Jewish Democratic congressman from Manhattan, called the gesture antisemitic and said other officials should condemn it.
“I never imagined we would see the day when what appears to be a Heil Hitler salute would be made behind the Presidential seal,” Nadler tweeted. “This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history. I urge all of my colleagues to unite in condemning this hateful gesture for what it is: antisemitism.”
Around the same time as Nadler’s tweet, the Anti-Defamation League antisemitism watchdog group issued its own ruling: “not a Nazi salute.”
The ADL has tangled with Musk over hate speech regulation on X; the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, has also praised Musk’s business acumen.
“It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the group tweeted.
