Netanyahu defends Elon Musk amid Nazi salute accusations

Israel’s prime minister calls tech mogul and US DOGE administrator Elon Musk a ‘great friend of Israel,’ pushing back against criticism of the billionaire over gesture some compared to Hitler salute.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly defended South African-born billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday, after the tech mogul and administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump was accused of making a Nazi salute at an inauguration event Monday.

Raising his arm to wave to the crowd twice during the event, critics quickly compared Musk’s gesture to the Nazi salute.

“For the record, the distance between Trump declaring that he was saved by God to make America great again & Musk delivering the Hitler salute was less than 4 hours,” tweeted Steve Schmidt, a former Republican campaign official who left the party in 2018, becoming a vocal Trump critic.

Some lawmakers, including New York Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler, accused Musk of antisemitism.

“This abhorrent gesture has no place in our society and belongs in the darkest chapters of human history,” Nadler tweeted. “I urge all of my colleagues to unite in condemning this hateful gesture for what it is: antisemitism.”

The Anti-Defamation League, which has criticized Musk in the past, rejected the comparison, however, calling the movement an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm.”

On Thursday, Musk posted a brief comment to his X/Twitter account, pushing back on the “radical leftists” comparing his gesture to the Nazi salute, noting support on the far-left for the virulently antisemitic Hamas terror organization.

“The radical leftists are really upset that they had to take time out of their busy day praising Hamas to call me a Nazi.”

Hours later, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his personal X account to defend Musk from accusations of antisemitism.

“Elon Musk is being falsely smeared,” Netanyahu tweeted.

“Elon is a great friend of Israel. He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

“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.”

Benjamin NetanyahuElon MuskNazi salute