The Shift: The ADL exists to defend Israel, not combat antisemitism

During a rally after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the richest man in the world appeared to do a Nazi salute.

“Some elections are important, some are not. But this one, this one really mattered, and I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” Elon Musk told the crowd, before touching his heart, grunting, and extending his arm in a motion that sure as hell looked like a Sieg heil. He did this twice.

Many of the same commentators who use ableist language and decry the “victim mentality” of the left are attempting to blame Musk’s motion on his autism. Of course, autism doesn’t actually make people do fascist salutes, but I digress.

Musk hasn’t exactly vehemently denied the accusation, although he did post a tweet implying that he can’t be a fascist because he’s a Zionist. Feel free to insert your own joke here.

There is one group of people convinced that Elon Musk’s hand gesture was purposeful. Nazis.

The antisemitic author Keith Woods tweeted, “Ok maybe woke really is dead.”

Neo-Nazi Christopher Pohlhaus wrote, “I don’t care if this was a mistake. I’m going to enjoy the tears over it.”

“Incredible things are happening already lmao,” said Christian Nationalis Andrew Torba.

A chapter of a racist group called White Lives Matter said, “Thanks for (sometimes) hearing us, Elon. The White Flame will rise again.”

You might assume that this would be useful information for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that presents itself as some sort of bipartisan civil rights group, principally committed to eradicating antisemitism.

However, the ADL essentially shrugged off Musk’s action in a tweet.

“This is a delicate moment,” wrote the group. “It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety. It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge.”

“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath,” the statement continued. “This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”

For the sake of argument let’s assume that Musk, who is part of an administration set to launch a massive deportation program and responsible for converting Twitter into a safe haven for Nazis, really did make an awkward gesture. The ADL giving him the benefit of the doubt might have been confounding, but it wouldn’t necessarily point to wider issues about the group’s the agenda.

That’s obviously not the case here.

For years, the ADL has been insisting that all kinds of things are antisemitism and very few of those instances are as blatant as a fascist salute.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has smeared Rep. Rashida Tlaib as antisemitic for pointing out that Israel has blocked ambulances from entering Gaza. He’s said that it’s antisemitic for people to tweet “Free Palestine” at him. He’s compared Gaza solidarity protests with Nazi rallies.

At the ADL’s National Leadership Summit in 2023, Greenblatt spent most of his speech sounding the alarm over anti-Zionism and spent virtually no time discussing right-wing antisemitism.

This outlook certainly transcends Greenblatt. It’s embraced as part of the organization’s methodology. Every year the group puts out statistics suggesting that antisemitism has increased by astronomical proportions, but a cursory look at the data reveals that anti-Zionism is openly chalked up as antisemitism.

In a June 2024 Jewish Currents piece Shane Burley and Naomi Bennet broke down the ADL’s deceptive report on antisemitic incidents.

“In the audit, the ADL claims that it is ‘careful not to conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism’ but specifies that its ‘approach to Israel-related expressions comports with the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of antisemitism'” they write. “But it is precisely this definition that critics argue conflates legitimate criticisms of Israel or Zionism with antisemitism. To assess each entry and determine whether to classify it as an antisemitic incident, we instead used the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) definition, a tool developed by scholars to identify antisemitism while avoiding erroneous conflations of anti-Zionism with antisemitism.”

“While we expected that this difference in methodology would create a disparity between our findings and the ADL’s, our reappraisal also highlighted more basic problems with the ADL’s tracking system,” the authors continue. “In addition to identifying more than a thousand items we believe were misclassified as antisemitic—all cases of speech critical of Israel or Zionism—we found that the data included misapplications of the organization’s own standards and often did not provide enough information for us to assess the group’s judgment. Our analysis clarifies what the ADL’s prominent report captures and excludes, and shows how the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism skews the data—ultimately serving as a reminder of the need for serious statistical analysis done by an organization not beholden to Israel advocacy.”

The ADL’s reaction to the Musk moment certainly isn’t surprising, but the group’s hypocrisy demonstrates how the organization isn’t actually committed to combating antisemitism. It exists to defend Israel.

Harvard and the IHRA

In recent years we have pro-Israel groups embrace civil rights law as a means to shut down dissent across campuses.

The game plan has always been pretty straightforward. If you can establish some sort of operative link between religious identity and Zionism, then any criticism of Israel’s policy can technically be interpreted as antisemitism.

These efforts obviously have dangerous implications and we saw some of those this week at Harvard.

In order to settle two federal lawsuits accusing the university of not doing enough to prevent antisemitic discrimination, the school has agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s controversial working definition of antisemitism, which classifies certain criticisms of Israel as antisemitic.

“This settlement agreement is a major advance for students at Harvard University,” Ken Marcus told Jewish Insider. “We expect that it will have an extraordinary impact for colleges and universities around the country. There is now a Harvard standard that other colleges will need to strive to meet.” 

Marcus founded the pro-Israel Brandeis Center, which launched one of the lawsuits. During the first Trump administration, he served as the Assistant Secretary for Civil Right, where he effectively launched a campaign against pro-Palestine voices at universities.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) put out a statement condemning Harvard’s decision.

“Rather than promoting genuine understanding of antisemitism, the IHRA definition weaponizes ‘antisemitism’ to undermine Palestine advocacy by criminalizing legitimate criticisms of the Israeli government,” it reads. “IHRA also criminalizes and punishes any criticism of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, which is recognized as illegal under international law.”

“The proposed definition is not intended to provide a concrete, functional definition of what constitutes antisemitic prejudice and discrimination, but rather it is an attempt to stifle the free speech and expression of all Americans,” it continues.

“These are gravely serious issues that merit the freest possible discussion in society and on campus,” wrote former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth in the Boston Globe. “Harvard made a mistake by adopting a definition of antisemitism that has a long track record of inhibiting that discussion.”

“Criticizing Israeli government policy can now get you punished at Harvard,” tweeted the The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). “Today, Harvard adopted an expansive version of the viewpoint-discriminatory IHRA definition of anti-Semitism — one that appears to make belief in Zionism a protected status.”

Odds & Ends

🏫 I was suspended from Emory over my Palestine activism. I will not let it stop me.

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🤝 Biden could have delivered this ceasefire agreement last year

🐘 There will be no ‘Trump effect’ when it comes to U.S. policy toward Palestine

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🗺️ Is Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ back on the table?

🤔 Jewish Insider: Koch-affiliated policy advisor playing key role in isolationist Pentagon appointments

💸 Responsible Statecraft: Trump doubles down on wasteful American Iron Dome

🪖 Counterpunch: The Trump/Hegseth Military Versus Protesters in the US

🇵🇸 Middle East Eye: In the West Bank, Trump is giving Netanyahu a free hand to blow up the region

🔍 Reuters: Trump Mideast envoy says he will be in Gaza for ceasefire inspections

◀️ Axios: Israel ambassador expects Trump to reverse hold on 2,000-pound bombs

🇮🇱 NBC News: As Trump lifts sanctions on West Bank settlers, anti-Palestinian violence flares in the occupied area

🫏 The Nation: How Biden’s Foreign Policy Destroyed His Presidency

📺 Electronic Intifada: CNN accuses journalists raising Gaza genocide of “cringeworthy heckling”

🟧 BBC: Trump ‘not confident’ Israel-Gaza ceasefire will hold

🗒️ New York Times: Takeaways From Marco Rubio’s Senate Hearing

✝️ The Washington Stand: Congresswoman Launches Historic ‘Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus’

🎓 The Harvard Crimson: Win Against Hate or Loss for Academic Freedom? Harvard Faculty Split Over Antisemitism Settlements

📊 Middle East Eye: 21 percent of American voters back Hamas over Israel in ongoing conflict

⛪ Truthout: Trump’s UN Pick Says Israel Has “Biblical Right” to West Bank Amid Invasion

Stay safe out there,

Michael