Dear Friends,
Greetings from Tel Aviv, where we are anxiously awaiting the release of four more hostages from Gaza. I’ll have much to share upon my return, but for now, I wanted to address a domestic issue that has emerged this week.
As you probably know, Elon Musk twice offered a “Roman Salute” upon ascending the stage at President Trump’s inauguration. While I tend to give the benefit of the doubt in such situations, given some of Musk’s previous statements and affiliations, this gesture, also known as a “Fascist Salute,” raised immediate concerns. Liberal and centrist organizations were outraged, perceiving it as a message of embrace to extremists, while the very extremist right-wing and neo-Nazi groups they were concerned about rejoiced.
In response, ADL released a statement referring to the hand signal as awkward, dismissing any hidden meaning behind it, and encouraged people to “take a breath.” My colleagues and I have received calls and emails from many of you expressing concern about Musk’s actions and extreme disappointment and upset with ADL’s response. I concur.
I believe ADL was wrong to step in and take a position. They were wrong to dismiss the gesture without taking the time to look more deeply into it. And they were wrong to dismiss those expressing concern. They were wrong. Full stop.
Unfortunately, that leaves many of us in a difficult position. At a time when Jew hatred is reaching epidemic proportions, the work ADL is doing to address this growing threat to our community’s safety is more important than ever. But in this instance, they failed miserably.
So what are our options? In my opinion, there are three choices.
We could ignore Musk’s actions and ADL’s response, but that would only further excuse both Musk’s actions and ADL’s sorely misguided response.
We could, as a number of you have suggested, determine that ADL’s response was a step too far and walk away from the organization. That, unfortunately, would weaken one of the most important defenses we have against the growing hate.
Or we could follow the advice of the rabbis of old and offer “chastisements of love.” Such chastisements make clear our upset while maintaining relationships and giving the individual or, in this case, organization the opportunity to recognize their missteps, seek to address them, and change.
While I respect those of you who may choose either of the first two options, my colleagues and I believe the third option is the best, most responsible, and most likely to yield positive results.
In addition to speaking to one of the heads of ADL’s New Jersey office during my flight on Tuesday, Rabbi Klein, Cantor Moses and Executive Director Beth Blackman have sent a letter to the ADL leadership. In it, they state,
We, along with our colleagues and lay leaders, have worked hard over the years to build a strong relationship between the ADL and our congregation—a relationship which we very much hope will continue. However, we are concerned that the ADL’s failure to condemn Musk’s actions—both this week and in the past—has eroded a sense of trust and confidence in the ADL’s ability to speak out with hard truths when the moment demands it. We looked to the ADL to be our voice in response to Monday’s events, and silence would have been preferable to the cowardice and gaslighting that we received.
(You can read the full letter here.)
No organization is perfect, but I am extremely disappointed in ADL. I also know how important their work is. So rather than walk away, I will now work to further deepen my connection in the hope that I/we can help them avoid future errors of such magnitude. That includes attending their Never Is Now Conference on Antisemitism, where I have no doubt this will be discussed. We can, should, and will be in the room for that discussion. I am grateful to Rabbi Klein, Cantor Moses and Beth Blackman for addressing this in such a strong and direct manner, but I know this is only the first step in an important conversation that needs to happen.
I look forward to discussing this further upon my return.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Cohen