By Chris Menahan
Article Source

Neoconservative Ben Shapiro on Thursday put together a panel of rabbis and other leaders in the Jewish community to hector Elon Musk to censor “anti-Semitism” on Twitter/X.

Musk, who is ostensibly the world’s richest man, assured Shapiro’s panel he was not “anti-Semitic” and is in fact “aspirationally Jewish.”

Musk also said he went to a Jewish school at one point as a child in South Africa and may be partially Jewish, though he doesn’t actually know.

 

 

Musk said his general principle on free speech for X is to operate according to the law. Shapiro did not advocate for X to follow the First Amendment himself but instead had his panel hector Musk to censor nearly all criticism of Jewish people by using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s “working definition of antisemitism” to censor.

 

The IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism is completely antithetical to the First Amendment.

The IHRA defines anti-Semitism as:

– Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

– Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.

– Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).

– Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.

– Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.

– Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.

– Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.

– Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.

– Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

– Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

No other ethnic or religious group in America is afforded any such privileges.

Though other countries will imprison their citizens for violating those speech codes, America has the First Amendment which is supposed to guarantee our right to free speech.

Musk was also pressured to agree to visit Auschwitz:

 

Here’s the summary Shapiro shared of the talk on X:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After listening to the entire discussion, what stood out to me the most is how Shapiro claims he’s an ADL critic and the ADL isn’t Jewish but his panel — which was entirely Jewish and included a former President of Israel calling in from Israel — made basically all the same demands as the ADL when it comes to censorship.

Musk would have gotten a more balanced panel if he appeared on MSNBC, CNBC or CNN!