Jewish people everywhere are angered, shocked, and horrified by what happened on Monday during Elon Musk’s speech during the ceremony of President Trump’s inauguration. Now that Trump is president, Musk’s actions show he doesn’t care if he is called a Nazi anymore. Make no mistake, the billionaire Elon Musk’s Nazi salute that he gave twice will embolden neo-Nazis under the Trump presidency. Jewish people everywhere recognize his gesture for what it is: a Nazi signal to the most chauvinistic, backward, and reactionary sectors of the modern world that they are welcomed and have like-minded people around Trump.
After the Nazi rise to power in Germany in the 1930s, it became common for Germans to greet each other with a stiff-armed salute like the one Musk did. Before they gained power, the “German Greeting,” as it became known, was implemented within the Nazi Party to show authority to Hitler, the Fuhrer. Still, people sympathetic to Nazis use it today, either as a blatant expression of hate or as an ambiguous dog whistle in public to veil their message.
The convenience of a dog whistle is that any criticism can simply be disregarded as a misunderstanding, an over-reaction, or a smear. The publicity it creates in the media can even help amplify the message especially if it is not properly condemned. Those that understand the code in the message because they practice the same unpopular rituals, see this gesture as support.As the saying goes, if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, then it must be a duck! It is evident in how neo-Nazi organizations and individuals have come out praising Musk’s gesture.
Yet, some on televised media question the intention of Musk’s actions. “After all,” some will say, “his actions were taken out of context and while he made the gesture, he was saying thank you and ‘My heart goes out to you.‘ to the audience.” Even Jewish organizations that are supposedly fighting against anti-Semitic, like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have refused to condemn Musk’s actions and even defended the action as merely an “awkward” gesture. The media commentators are unwittingly or knowingly only helping the hateful coded message by propagating such a naive claim.
As quoted by Rabbi Ari Jun, “… sometimes we hold the line because to do otherwise creates profound doubt about what we stand for. This should have been a moment of line-holding for the ADL, but, instead, they folded. A crystal clear, forceful statement was called for, and we got anything but that. (What we needed was something like that of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which didn’t mince words: “We know precisely where this extremist behavior leads.”
The ambiguity of a dog whistle is exactly why it is used, plausible deniability makes it difficult to show intention. Musk defenders and commentators giving him the benefit of the doubt, disregard the even bigger context than the speech itself. Their arguments are removed from Musk’s self-interest in owning an electric car company, a space venturing service that contracts with the government, and a social media outlet. Musk wants these neo-Nazi groups to know that if they help him dismantle the left and labor movements which push to regulate his business ventures, he and Trump can help them too.
Elon Musk, in the past, has shown support for fascist groups and individuals. In our previous article, we mention Musk showing support to the neo-Nazi group in Germany, Alternative for Germany (AfD). Also, Elon Musk has defended the founder of the British National Party, Islamophobe, and neo-Nazi Tommy Robinson. Robinson has been imprisoned for contempt of court due to his repeated racially charged libel of a 15-year-old Syrian boy through social media posts.
In 2020, Musk showed support for a military coup d’etat led by Christian nationalists of the socialist-led Bolivian government. Musk wrote on X, which was known as Twitter at the time on this issue, “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.” After seizing power, the now defunct Bolivian coup administration immediately announced plans to invite corporations, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, to exploit Bolivia’s lithium reserves which are needed to produce the batteries in Tesla models.
Musk’s fascistic tendencies harken to automobile moguls before him like anti-Semite Henry Ford who financially supported Hitler’s Nazi party in the 1930s while promoting Nazi propaganda in his own factories in the US. The parallel of fascist support between the two is not a mere coincidence of circumstances, but par per the course of big industrial and monopoly enterprises to make profits in times of political and economic crisis.
One of the first things the Nazis did when they took power was to make labor within Germany subservient to their bosses. Musk achieves his self-interest of profit by reducing the amount he pays his workers. Despite high injury rates, long hours, and below-industry pay, Musk has been vehemently against any attempt at trade unions forming within his company’s walls. This explains why he has been so aggressive in ending the National Labor Relations Board’s oversight of how companies can treat their employees.
While extremely unlikely, given Trump’s previous statements in favor of neo-Nazis and praises for Hitler, the Nazi salute given by Elon Musk must be strongly condemned by the President of the United States, the leader of a country that lost over 400,000 Americans against Nazi Germany while the Nazis institutionalized one of the worst crimes, the Holocaust, against the Jewish people and other minority groups that killed over 6 million people.
The United Jewish Peoples Fraternal Order unequivocally condemns Elon Musk for his Nazi salute. The Jewish and non-Jewish community alike must unite against anti-Semitism, fascism, and any act that attempts to break up the working class. Never Again means Never Again for Everyone.
Chair of the UJPFO
Jake Fund