Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended Elon Musk after several news outlets interpreted a gesture Musk made at President Trump’s inauguration rally as a Nazi salute.

Netanyahu took to social media on Thursday to state that Musk is “being falsely smeared.”

“Elon is a great friend of Israel,” the prime minister stated. “He visited Israel following the October 7th massacre, where Hamas terrorists perpetrated the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. He has consistently and strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes aiming to destroy the only Jewish state.” 

Netanyahu expressed gratitude for Musk’s support.

The gesture in question occurred while Musk addressed supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

“This is what victory feels like! And this was no ordinary victory, this was a fork in the road for human civilization… I just want to say thank you for making it happen, thank you. From my heart to yours,” Musk enthusiastically said, placing a hand over his heart and extending his arm towards the crowd.

PBS News Hour posted on X that the Tesla CEO “gave what appeared to be a fascist salute,” while the Jerusalem Post reported, “US billionaire Elon Musk appeared to make a Heil Hitler salute at the Washington DC Trump parade on Monday, following Trump’s inauguration.”

CNN anchor Erin Burnett showed the clip of the gesture, calling it an “odd salute.”

Musk responded to the criticism on X, which he owns, writing, “The radical leftists are really upset that they had to take time out of their busy day praising Hamas to call me a Nazi.”

Musk later made light of the reports in another X post.

“Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Gőring your enemies! His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming,” Musk wrote, adding a laughing emoji.

The Anti-Defamation League also defended Musk, stating that the gesture was an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”

“In this moment, all sides should give each other a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt and take a breath,” the statement said. 

Digital’s David Spector contributed to this report.