Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and tech billionaire Elon Musk clashed on social media Wednesday over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress after Musk called the Democratic Party “openly and boldly antisemitic.”
The back-and-forth began after Musk responded to a post from Ocasio-Cortez on his social platform X about the decision by her and several other Democrats to boycott Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress.
“Just so we’re clear, Netanyahu has lost so many people that he is addressing just a fraction of Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “When this happens, they fill the seats with non-members, like what they do at award ceremonies, in order to project the appearance of full attendance and support.”
Musk, who attended the Israeli leader’s address at the Capitol, replied, “The Democratic Party has become openly & boldly antisemitic.”
“Hmm,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, “sometimes being quiet is free and good for you,” adding a screenshot of a Wall Street Journal article about when Musk appeared to agree with an antisemitic post last year.
Musk came under fire last November after engaging with a post about an antisemitic conspiracy theory that suggested antisemitism was carried out by minorities and that Jewish people were to blame. This claim echoes false conspiracy theories claiming Jewish people want to flood Western countries with minorities.
The Hill has reached out to Musk’s team for comment.
Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress this week highlighted the bitter divide among lawmakers over the U.S.’s policy toward Israel in its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas. The war, sparked by Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks against southern Israel, has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials.
The address was boycotted by a number of Democrats in protest of Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war and his inability to secure the release of all hostages being held by Hamas since its Oct. 7 attack.
A coalition of advocacy groups gathered around Capitol Hill to protest the speech and demand the arrest of Netanyahu, who has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Musk and Ocasio-Cortez have butted heads various times on social media, including last summer, when the New York progressive criticized X’s safety measures.
Ocasio-Cortez has publicly criticized the platform on multiple occasions since Musk’s takeover, from blasting the billionaire for suspending several journalists from the social media platform to accusing Musk of boosting a fake Twitter account impersonating her.