Jewish leaders from across the religious and academic communities released a public letter this week accusing X owner Elon Musk of promoting antisemitism with his behavior and his platform.
The letter, signed by 100 Jewish leaders, says Mr. Musk has brought on an age of antisemitism with his actions.
“As Jewish leaders of all backgrounds, current and former leaders of Jewish organizations, artists and activists from all over the country, we have watched in horror as a new stage in antisemitic discourse has spread like wildfire on one of America’s largest social media networks,” the letter reads. “All of this has been facilitated and enabled by its owner: Elon Musk.”
The letter details Mr. Musk’s actions such as taking part in the #BanTheADL movement, spreading the idea that “65% of Jewish college students support censorship” and reinstating noted antisemites on X and engaging with them.
“In short, X has become a breeding ground for antisemitism and represents one of the largest dangers to Jews in years,” the letter continues. “If something does not change, we know what will happen: Hate speech and radicalization are always the precursor to violence.”
The letter calls on private companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon to stop doing business with X.
Mr. Musk has long denied that his stewardship of X has led to any rise in hate speech or antisemitism. He says his policies are intended to promote freedom of speech on the platform.
Recently, Mr. Musk threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League for intentionally hurting X’s bottom line. The leftist organization has repeatedly claimed that hate speech and antisemitism in particular have risen since Mr. Musk took over the company last year.
“To be super clear, I’m pro-free speech, but against antisemitism of any kind,” Mr. Musk wrote on X.
Mr. Musk’s supporters were quick to affirm his claim that he is not antisemitic and that antisemitism is not flourishing on X. Many, including conservative commentator Mike Cernovich, said that if there is a rise in antisemitism it’s being led by Democratic National Committee-controlled bot accounts and not real people.
“It’s been proven that Democrat groups buy bots to falsely smear people via association. How many antisemitic accounts are real vs. how many are funded/operated by the DNC to create fear and division?” he wrote.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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