Elon Musk after visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau: I aspire to be a Jew

The billionaire laid a wreath at the Death Wall at the Auschwitz I camp, and then took part in a short ceremony commemorating the camp victims in front of the Holocaust Victims Monument at the ruins of the former crematoria at Auschwitz-Birkenau II.

Elon Musk after visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp: I aspire to be a Jew

In the afternoon, Elon Musk took part in the conference of the European Jewish Association in Krakow. The main point of the conference was a discussion between the American billionaire and right-wing publicist Ben Shapiro about anti-Semitism on the Internet. At the beginning, Musk emphasized that he still cannot imagine the enormity of the tragedy that took place in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. – I think it will take me a few days – he added.

– If we had social media and freedom of speech back then, it probably wouldn’t have been possible, said Elon Musk, referring to the Holocaust. However, in this context, it is worth recalling that 6 years ago, according to representatives of the UN mission, Facebook was “of key importance” for forcing nearly 700,000 people to flee the country. people. – Facebook has significantly contributed to the fact that mutual hostility, aggression and hate speech have reached such a level there – said Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.

Elon Musk also stated that he sees “virtually no anti-Semitism” in the circles he moves in. – Two thirds of my friends are Jews. I belong to the Jewish community. I aspire to be a Jew, said the billionaire.

– I never hear anti-Semitic content during dinner conversations, in my circles of friends it would be absurd – he added. He also said that as he watched pro-Hamas rallies taking place “in almost every city in the West,” including elite university campuses, he was astonished. – People on these campuses should be enlightened, not spread hate. I was at the University of Pennsylvania and I thought, “This is unbelievable.”

Elon Musk accused of anti-Semitism

is part of the celebration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27. The event is organized by EJA. The billionaire tentatively agreed to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum for the first time a few months ago, after he began to face accusations of supporting (and even spreading) anti-Semitic content online. Last fall, Musk admitted on the X platform to one of the users who argued that Jews were “promoting hatred against whites.”

The billionaire caused a scandal commented around the world, and in response to his behavior, some large companies (including Apple, Sony Pictures and Disney) stopped displaying their ads on the X platform. The official statement also condemned the White House, calling it “unacceptable”. and “contrary to our core values ​​as Americans.” Elon Musk later called his comment “one of the stupidest things he’s ever done.”

The billionaire’s X platform also faces accusations of promoting or allowing anti-Semitic content. At the end of November, the Media Matters for America organization published a report in which it describes that anti-Semitic or pro-Nazi content appears on the X website, often right next to advertisements. large and well-known enterprises. X responded with a lawsuit, accusing the organization of trying to “drive advertisers off the platform and destroy X Corp.”