Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus of The Daily Wire and host of The Ben Shapiro Show, had X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk on his podcast with a panel of leaders in the Jewish community. They spoke about X, rampant anti-Semitism and “what it all means for free speech,” in the words of Shapiro, who practices Orthodox Judaism.
Earlier this month, the tech billionaire Musk wrote (on X) that he was “pro free speech but against anti-Semitism of any kind,” and alleged that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is trying “to kill” the platform (X) “by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic.” Musk has threatened to file a defamation suit against the organization.
To be super clear, I’m pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023
[Note: The ADL posted a report which revealed that since Musk took over Twitter “only 28 percent of posts flagged for anti-Semitic content were taken down or sanctioned” and accused the platform “of failing to take action against hate speech.”]
I’ll be talking with @elonmusk, along with my co-host @arilamm and a panel of esteemed leaders in the Jewish community, where we’ll talk about X, anti-Semitism, and what it all means for free speech. Tune in tomorrow, Thursday 9/28 at 12pm ET! https://t.co/AspCHC1BIt
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 27, 2023
Shapiro’s conversation with Musk is available below. One listener drew out Musk’s comment: “I have twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends. I’m aspirationally Jewish.” Shapiro re-tweeted the comment, as did Fox News anchor and GOP presidential primary debate co-moderator, Dana Perino.
“I have twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends. I’m aspirationally Jewish”
— Yaakov Langer (@jacklanger) September 28, 2023
– @elonmusk
(on the @X space with @benshapiro and others on the topic of antisemitism) pic.twitter.com/xys4UesGpf
