Musk Expresses Worry of Anti-Semitic Views Among the Young on the Left

Elon Musk at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, on June 16, 2023. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

Elon Musk has expressed worry that anti-Semitism could spread across the entire political left as young leftists who openly express anti-Semitic views grow older.

“The young on the left are obviously already openly anti-Semitic. As they grow in seniority, this will become the entire left,” Mr. Musk wrote in response to a post on his social media platform X on April 30 from a Columbia University’s Jewish professor who was barred from the campus last week.

Mr. Musk’s comments come amid ongoing anti-Israel protests at multiple universities across the country. The tech billionaire has openly expressed his views against anti-Semitism.

Earlier this year, when touring the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, where at least 1.1 million people, mainly Jews, were killed by Nazi Germany during World War II, Mr. Musk said he was shocked to see anti-Israel protests across major Western cities and college campuses, including elite universities like Harvard.

“All of the riots that were in the major cities and college campuses, I think, was a shocking wake-up call to any sort of civilization or civil-minded person. [It’s] really quite a shock,” Mr. Musk said.

Protests have erupted at multiple American universities, with encampments on campus in response to Israel’s military action against Hamas in Gaza. The protests first broke out at Columbia University on April 17, then spread to New York University, Yale University, and other universities.

Police Deployed ‘To Restore Safety and Order’

On Tuesday night, New York police entered Columbia University in New York City to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The police arrested protesters who had occupied and barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall the day before.

“We made the decision, early in the morning, that this was a law enforcement matter and that the NYPD [New York Police Department] was best positioned to determine and execute an appropriate response,” Columbia University spokesperson Ben Chang told The Epoch Times. “We believe that the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University.”

The arrests come after talks between university officials and student protest leaders broke down on April 29 as school negotiators rejected their demands to disclose and divest from all financial ties to Israel.

The students’ demands include amnesty for students and faculty, an end to alleged “land grabs” in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City and in Palestine, no policing on the Columbia University campus, and no academic ties with Israeli universities.

Across the nation, police have intervened in multiple universities to disperse the protests and made over 800 arrests so far.

White House Condemns

Meanwhile, the House White denounced the occupation of a school building at Columbia University, saying, “It is wrong.”

“President Biden has stood against repugnant, Antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful—it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.”

On April 24, nearly 30 GOP senators sent a letter to the Biden administration, urging it to restore order to campuses and protect Jewish students. In the letter, the Republican senators demanded that Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona act to ensure the safety of Jewish students.

Last week, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called on President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard to Columbia University to protect Jewish students. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also visited Columbia University and made the same call to the president to end protests on U.S. college campuses.

The House is expected to pass the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act in an effort to crack down on rising anti-Semitism across the United States.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported 8,873 incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States in 2023, marking a 140 percent increase.

The figure represents the highest level recorded since the ADL began collecting data in 1979.

Juliette Fairley contributed to this report.