Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stands by Elon Musk: 'Falsely smeared' in Nazi salute row

In response to the criticism regarding his inauguration gesture, Musk dismissed the allegations, writing on X, “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come to the defence of billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who has faced controversy over a gesture he made at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Critics had described the gesture as a Nazi salute, but Netanyahu labelled the claims as a "false smear."

“Elon is a great friend of Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.

.@elonmusk is being falsely smeared.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 Israels https://t.co/VkBptanDmp
Benjamin Netanyahu - (@netanyahu) January 23, 2025

The Israeli leader further praised Musk, highlighting his strong support for Israel, saying the billionaire "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." Netanyahu also referenced Musk's visit to Israel after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, where Musk showed solidarity with the nation. This came amid a separate controversy where Musk had been accused of anti-Semitism. At the time, Musk had endorsed a post that accused Jewish people of “hatred against whites,” a statement he later apologized for.

Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, has also been criticized for allegedly facilitating the spread of anti-Semitic and racist content since he took over in 2022. During his November 2023 visit to Israel, Musk toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas and met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who told him he had “a huge role to play” in combating anti-Semitism.

In response to the criticism regarding his inauguration gesture, Musk dismissed the allegations, writing on X, “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”