Nazi jokes and Nazi salutes

I have no real use for the ADL and less for Jonathan Greenblatt. I have long believed they see antisemitism lurking around every corner, often in a way the conflicts with my views on First Amendment protection for hate speech. So I am not the group's target audience. And October 7 produced a genuine uptick in antisemitic speech and incidents, so I began to see a bit of the group's point.

But Greenblatt and the group's response to Elon Musk's adventures destroys any credibility. First, it was a Nazi salute; it did not just "appear to be," as so many outlets (including The Forward) described it. And it was made on stage at an inaugural even by a person with an office in the West Wing and the ear of the new President. Minimizing it as "an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm" is absurd. Greenblatt exacerbated the problem by condescendingly telling everyone who disagrees with him (those who are "on edge") to chill out by "giv[ing] one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath" and "hop[ing] for healing and work[ing] toward unity in the months and years ahead." As if Musk and the president he supports are not expressly targeting those they do no like. Demanding that one side give the benefit of the doubt and work toward unity--while the other runs roughshod--is offensive nonsense.

Greenblatt made himself look worse by chastising Musk over bad puns about Nazi leaders, taking umbrage about the Holocaust as a unique event that should never be joked about. (Maybe have a word with Mel Brooks?). One might see this as attempted compensation--chastising the joke to overcome the criticism for his response to the salute. But I think Greenblatt sincerely sees the latter as worse than the former. And that reflects bizarre priorities--an online joke deserves strident condemnation but a political speech celebrating a president set to pursue some problematic policies is no big deal. Of course, it is consistent with the view that the pro-Palestinian shouts of an Oberlin student represent an existential threat to Jews but government policy that harms Jewish interests is no big deal.

To be clear, both of Musk's actions warrant condemnation. And both are constitutionally protected, so nothing (besides cementing my negative opinion about him) should befall Musk. Greenblatt's disparate treatment reflects more about the ADL than it does on Musk's character. That is sad.

Update: From Jodi Rudoren at the Forward. She makes a point I considered after posting--the subsequent jokes should lend some "context" to the salute, strengthening the view that it carried an antisemitic message. Also, Greenblatt's quotations are moronic--"we don't know anything, but I can say it was not a Nazi salute."