Elon Musk Says He Attended Jewish School, Claims To Be “Aspirationally Jewish”

In recent weeks, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has been embroiled in a heated dispute with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) regarding allegations of facilitating anti-Semitic content on his new social media platform, ‘X’. On Thursday, Musk took a unique approach to address these claims during a chat with frum conservative author, Ben Shapiro. Highlighting his personal connections to Jewish culture, he referred to himself as “pro-Semitic.” Musk shared that he attended a Jewish preschool in South Africa, and also mentioned the Hebrew origin of his name, Elon, which he said means “oak tree.” While discussing his Jewish ties, Musk humorously mused, “Now I don’t know if I’m sort of genetically Jewish or what. Maybe somewhere. But I’d say I’m aspirationally Jewish.” He also sought to dispel the notion of merely using the defense of having Jewish acquaintances, stating, “I don’t have a Jewish friend. I think probably I have twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends. That’s why I think, in some respects, I think I am Jewish basically.” Musk furthered his connection to Jewish culture and heritage, stating he has visited significant historical sites in Israel, such as the Kosel and Masada, emphasizing his two visits to the latter. On a lighter note, when speaking of Jewish culture, Musk commented on the song ‘Hava Nagila,’ saying, “I wouldn’t say the Hava Nagila is the best… but it’s pretty, pretty good.” The ADL was among the organizations that criticized Musk after his acquisition of Twitter. Post-acquisition, many content moderation staff were let go, leading to concerns about unchecked hate speech under Musk’s free speech doctrine. Earlier in the month, Musk criticized the ADL, suggesting they were “trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic,” while contemplating a lawsuit in response to the organization’s claims. ADL responded in a statement noting, “Israel and Jews are frequently targets of hateful antisemitic and anti-Zionist invectives on Twitter/X. The measure of any conversations or policies is whether they decrease antisemitic hate on the platform.” Musk took the recent Twitter Space conversation as a chance to shift the narrative. He noted consultations with his “Jewish friends” who did not identify any anti-Semitic content on platform ‘X’. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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