Israel's Foreign Ministry criticized Twitter owner Elon Musk for encouraging antisemitic rhetoric by saying that Jewish philanthropist George Soros reminds him of Magneto, the villain from X-Men who, like Soros, survived the Holocaust, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Musk tweeted a day earlier that Soros "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization" and that he "hates humanity."
The Foreign Ministry pointed out that antisemitic conspiracy theories and "The Jews" spiked on the platform "following a tweet reeking of antisemitism by none other than the owner and CEO of the social network, Elon Musk."
However, Musk doubled down on his remarks in the aftermath of the criticism, telling CNBC, "I'll say what I want to say, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it."
Critics said that the Soros tweets by Musk are part of a larger pattern of attacks on the 92-year-old Democratic donor.
Alex Goldenberg, an analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute, tweeted, "Musk's likening Soros to Magneto isn't casual; it's a nod to harmful antisemitic tropes of Jewish global control."
In addition, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch called Musk's remarks "the Protocols of the Elders of Zion for the internet age" — referring to the notorious forged document that accuses Jews of trying to control the world.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt joined in the criticism, tweeting that Musk's remarks "will embolden extremists who already contrive anti-Jewish conspiracies and have tried to attack Soros and Jewish communities as a result."
Musk later responded that the organization should drop the "Anti" from its name, stressing to CNBC that he is not an antisemite. "I'm a pro-Semite, if anything."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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