The US Democratic Party has become “openly anti-Semitic,” SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed, after Democrat lawmaker Rashida Tlaib called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” during his address to Congress.
Speaking to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu vowed – to thunderous applause from Republicans and a more muted response from Democrats – to win a “total victory in Gaza” and “fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities.”
Around half of the Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate skipped the speech. Among those who attended was Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, who held up a small sign reading “Guilty of Genocide” and “War criminal” as the Israeli prime minister spoke.
People who have been lifelong Democrats refuse to accept the clear reality that the Democratic Party is rapidly become openly antisemitic.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2024
This trend is accelerating, not slowing down.
Knock, knock. Hello, Captain Obvious here! https://t.co/YspN1d4GQy
Tlaib’s protest drew condemnation from Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats. In a post on X, tech billionaire Mark Pincus wondered, “How is this part of the Dem party? Are Dem leadrs denouncing?”
US Democrats snub Netanyahu – AxiosREAD MORE US Democrats snub Netanyahu – Axios “People who have been lifelong Democrats refuse to accept the clear reality that the Democratic Party is rapidly becom[ing] openly anti-Semitic,” Musk replied, claiming that “This trend is accelerating, not slowing down.”
Support for Israel is typically an issue of bipartisan agreement in the US. Back in April, a bill providing $26.3 billion in assistance to the Jewish state passed the House by 366 votes to 58, after which it was sent to the Senate and combined with bills gifting tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine and Taiwan, which also passed with bipartisan support.
However, Israel’s war on Hamas has widened the rift between the Democratic Party’s establishment and progressive wings, with the latter pressing President Joe Biden to force Netanyahu into declaring an immediate ceasefire. In an apparent gesture to the progressives, Biden froze the delivery of around 1,800 2,000-pound bombs to Israel earlier this summer. However, his administration has given Israel more than 14,000 of the same bombs, as well as drone-launched missiles and $6.5 billion in other military aid, since October 7, Reuters reported last week.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,100 people and taking around 250 hostages to Gaza. Israel immediately declared war on the Palestinian militant group, and has since killed nearly 40,000 people in the enclave, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Musk himself was accused of anti-Semitism back in January, when he claimed that Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League push “dialectical hatred against whites.” The tech mogul apologized for the statement shortly afterwards, before embarking on a trip to Israel to meet Netanyahu, followed by a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
In a press conference after meeting Netanyahu, Musk declared that Israel had “no choice” but to destroy Hamas, calling the Palestinian militant group a “poisonous regime.” In a similar briefing at Auschwitz, he declared that he had been “frankly naive” about the alleged rise of anti-Semitism in the West.
Ocasio-Cortez to Musk: ‘Sometimes being quiet’ is ‘good for you
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and tech billionaire Elon Musk clashed on social media Wednesday over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress after Musk called the Democratic Party “openly and boldly antisemitic.”
The back-and-forth began after Musk responded to a post from Ocasio-Cortez on his social platform X about the decision by her and several other Democrats to boycott Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress.
“Just so we’re clear, Netanyahu has lost so many people that he is addressing just a fraction of Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “When this happens, they fill the seats with non-members, like what they do at award ceremonies, in order to project the appearance of full attendance and support.”
Musk, who attended the Israeli leader’s address at the Capitol, replied, “The Democratic Party has become openly & boldly antisemitic.”
“Hmm,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, “sometimes being quiet is free and good for you,” adding a screenshot of a Wall Street Journal article about when Musk appeared to agree with an antisemitic post last year.
Musk came under fire last November after engaging with a post about an antisemitic conspiracy theory that suggested antisemitism was carried out by minorities and that Jewish people were to blame. This claim echoes false conspiracy theories claiming Jewish people want to flood Western countries with minorities.
The Hill has reached out to Musk’s team for comment.
Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress this week highlighted the bitter divide among lawmakers over the U.S.’s policy toward Israel in its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas. The war, sparked by Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks against southern Israel, has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials.
The address was boycotted by a number of Democrats in protest of Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war and his inability to secure the release of all hostages being held by Hamas since its Oct. 7 attack.
A coalition of advocacy groups gathered around Capitol Hill to protest the speech and demand the arrest of Netanyahu, who has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Musk and Ocasio-Cortez have butted heads various times on social media, including last summer, when the New York progressive criticized X’s safety measures.
Ocasio-Cortez has publicly criticized the platform on multiple occasions since Musk’s takeover, from blasting the billionaire for suspending several journalists from the social media platform to accusing Musk of boosting a fake Twitter account impersonating
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