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Good morning and Happy Friday! Mehdi here, counting down the hours till the long weekend. It’s been that kind of (long!) week. Although I did carve out two hours on Wednesday night to watch ‘Mutiny,’ the latest Jason Statham action flick. Think ‘Die Hard’ on… a ship.
Onto slightly more consequential matters.
If Democrats are expected to disavow Hasan Piker when he isn’t antisemitic, shouldn’t Republicans disavow Elon Musk when he… is? And how are we still living in ‘the land of the free’ if Congress is making it illegal for universities, including faculty and personnel, to exercise their First Amendment right to criticize – and boycott – foreign countries like Israel?
Let’s get into it.
World’s Richest Man Calls on Jews to Take DNA Tests to Prove They’re Jewish
Is Elon Musk an antisemite?
Is he, perhaps, like Henry Ford in more ways than one?
The world’s richest man has always denied being an antisemite, and yet there is the rather inconvenient matter of his record.
And, no, I’m not just referring to the way in which Musk-owned Twitter has become a cesspit of open racism and antisemitism; an online refuge for neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, and white supremacists.
I’m talking about Musk himself.
Remember in 2023 when he responded to a Twitter user who accused Jewish communities of pushing “dialectical hatred against white people” by saying: “You have said the actual truth”? Outrage followed, and some advertisers fled his platform. He eventually apologized and went to Auschwitz with Ben Shapiro on what looked a lot like a rehabilitation tour.
Remember in 2025 when he celebrated Trump’s inauguration by giving what looked to a lot of people – including Nazis – like a Nazi salute? The ADL, which never misses an opportunity to accuse a supporter of Palestine of being antisemitic, rushed to his defense, describing it only as “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”
Remember how he continues to support and amplify the far-right AfD party in Germany, which has been plagued by scandals involving Nazis and Nazi rhetoric?
You might think that would be enough controversy involving one billionaire and antisemitism.
Apparently not.
On Thursday, Musk went further. On the social media site that he owns, he decided to question Jewish racial identity in a really weird, pseudo-sciency, even eugenicky way.
Here is the original poll from a random Twitter account, followed by Musk’s response. Read it for yourself.
Seriously: What possesses a normal, non-racist, non-antisemitic person to engage with a question like this in the first place?
And what possesses them to answer it by suggesting that if Jews who look white cannot provide DNA evidence of their Jewishness, then they must actually be white and their Jewish identity must be “all in their mind.”
Or as one user quote-tweeted in response to Musk’s comments:
So why am I leading today’s ‘First Draft’ with this one insanely racist, clearly antisemitic post?
Two reasons.
First, because it is actually a very big deal when the richest person on Earth, who also owns one of the most influential communications platforms on Earth, starts publicly dabbling in ideas about Jews, bloodlines, DNA, appearance, and racial authenticity. (You remember the people who did that back in the 1930s and 1940s, right?)
To quote political commentator Brian Beutler, reacting to Musk’s post: “The man using his vast fortune to bail out GOP candidates across the country says many white-skinned Jews don’t look super Jewy, and thus may not have Jew blood in them, freeing them to be white if they could just get over themselves. Some subtle antisemitic undertones there.”
“Subtle” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, obviously.
But there is a second reason this matters – and it goes far beyond Musk.
Elon Musk is the single biggest donor to the Republican Party. He plans to spend at least $100 million in more than a dozen House and Senate races in the upcoming midterms. And on the very same day that Musk was opining about Jewish identity and DNA, his America PAC “disclosed the first $800,000 of that spending in 15 races,” according to the New York Times.
So, will we now see a frenzied news cycle in which Republican candidates taking money from Musk are asked to disavow his comments about Jewish identity? Will reporters chase those candidates through the halls of Congress asking whether they agree that a Jew’s Jewishness can be determined by their skin color or DNA?
Will Republicans be asked to condemn Elon Musk?
Haven’t we spent the past few weeks watching media organizations obsess over Abdul El-Sayed ally Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer, and demanding Democrats condemn him? Piker has never said anything comparable to Musk when it comes to Jews and Judaism. Nor does Piker fund the Democratic Party with nine-figure sums.
Musk funds the GOP. In Michigan, for example, El-Sayed’s Republican opponent Mike Rogers is now being boosted by Musk’s cash. So, will he be asked to denounce and disavow the world’s richest man?
How about Senator Susan Collins in Maine, who castigated former Democratic opponent Graham Platner for his alleged antisemitism? Will she be asked to comment on the man who just pumped $170,000 into her campaign? Rep. Mike Lawler of New York co-sponsored the Antisemitism Awareness Act and has denounced Hasan Piker on his two Twitter accounts more than half a dozen times. Does he now have to distance himself from Musk, who just gave him $10,000 this week, after also giving him over a million dollars in 2024?
How long will the brazen double standards of our soft-on-GOP mainstream media continue?
And how long will we be expected to pretend that the ongoing row over Hasan Piker is actually about antisemitism?
Because Elon Musk is right here in front of us saying this grotesque antisemitic stuff day after day, on a platform he owns, while pouring millions of dollars into Republican campaigns.
What did Musk write in that post?
“People are what they appear to be.”
Perhaps we should take him at his word.
🇮🇷 Iran War Updates
‘Treasonous scum’: Donald Trump said “people and media outlets” who report “the fact that we have no ammunition” were “100% wrong” and “treasonous scum.” Reports of dwindling missile stocks are widespread. Trump also claimed, you guessed it, that any problems were Joe Biden’s fault for arming Ukraine.
Strait talk: JD Vance told reporters the U.S. does not plan to restart talks with Tehran unless Iran stops attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Asked if the war would be over before the midterm elections, Vance said: “I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now there is no active shooting.”
Active shooting: Iran launched missiles and drones at U.S. assets in Kuwait. It also buried victims of a strike said to have hit a wedding, killing at least five, including two children. Vance said of the alleged wedding strike: “We’re investigating it because obviously we care.”
Weak sauce: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized for saying no U.S. troops had been killed in the Iran war, claiming to have been thinking about the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. death toll is 18, with hundreds injured.
Funding grab: Democrat Rose DeLauro, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the Pentagon is “working to divert billions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health to supplement [its] budget.” DeLauro said: “This secretive attempt to siphon research funds… is outrageous [and] needs to be terminated immediately.”
Wider war: Iran-backed Houthi rebels engaged in fierce clashes with Yemeni government forces near the Red Sea coast.
Lebanon latest: Israel’s military said it had taken “operational control” of the strategic Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces demolished homes in al-Mansouri, despite a supposed “ceasefire.” Save the Children said in a report this week that Israel has killed or injured more than seven children, on average, each day in Lebanon since March.
Israel and the End of Campus Free Speech
It’s not often one finds oneself appreciating the words of Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, a central member of the gerontocratic, pro-Israel Democratic establishment that has held power way too long. But he was dead right, in part, when he explained why he voted against the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, a measure to punish colleges linked to boycotts of Israel.
“No matter how strongly I oppose the BDS movement,” Nadler said, “I also believe that those who engage in BDS have a First Amendment right to do so. The First Amendment right to free speech does not apply only to agreeable speech. No matter how much I may disagree with BDS, and find it strategically stupid and morally repugnant, I will always fight to protect Americans’ right to speech with which I disagree. It is the only way to ensure speech I do agree with is equally protected.”
It’s an old argument, rather fallen from fashion. Certainly it seems 33 of Nadler’s Democratic colleagues reject it, given they voted with all but two Republicans to pass the anti-boycott bill.
Earlier this week, Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, outlined some of the absurd ways the bill will work.
Ahead of the vote, she told Responsible Statecraft: “The goal here is to basically say every university not only cannot refuse cooperation with Israel but must actively seek every opportunity to cooperate with Israel. And if they’re not doing that, they’re pro-BDS and anti-Israel.”
That, as Friedman previously pointed out, could mean legal action.
It’s madness. If the bill becomes law, colleges will have to foster pro-Israel ties and speech, and crack down on anti-Israel speech. Campus anti-Americanism will be OK, but anti-Israel argument will be forbidden.
Predictably, Nadler let himself down, saying “those who advocate for BDS can veer into antisemitism.” Clearly, opposing genocide and ethnic cleansing does not make one an antisemite. But the congressman’s words prompted a thought. Could genuine antisemites wish for a greater gift than the House just gave them, by appearing to do Israel’s bidding, to the detriment of America’s most cherished right – the right to free speech?
🗞️ What You Need to Know
Elections news: The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court over its rule attacking mail-in voting, a day before ballots for November’s midterms were due to start going out. In Missouri, the state Supreme Court blocked Republicans’ gerrymandered map, provoking Trump’s fury. In Nevada, DOJ pressure on elections officials is reportedly increasing.
Vacation of duty: The House will take two extra weeks off at the end of September, staying out till after the midterms. GOP Rep. Thomas Massie said Speaker Mike Johnson did not want to have to consider another bill seeking transparency over the late financier, sex offender, and Trump pal Jeffrey Epstein.
Spot the coverup: Health Secretary and anti-vax crank Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked CDC Director Erica Schwartz to remove two Pennsylvania deaths from the national tally of measles fatalities, Reuters reported. It followed a clash between Kennedy and Governor Josh Shapiro over the former’s anti-vaccination beliefs.
Suits you: Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer sued the DOJ, alleging she was fired for refusing to do a political favor for the actor Mel Gibson.
Immigration news: An ICE agent was charged with making false statements about the shooting of a Venezuelan in Minnesota. A DOJ prosecutor who wanted stronger charges was reportedly fired. The New York Times obtained a whistleblower report alleging ICE skipped basic checks in its rush for new recruits. The Intercept reported that far-right tech company Palantir created a new app for ICE to target immigrants, and the agency skipped a mandatory privacy assessment.
Maine man: Elon Musk’s super PAC is behind anti-Troy Jackson leaflets being hung on doors in Maine. Asked about such support from the toxic trillionaire, incumbent GOP Senator and profile in courage Susan Collins said she wasn’t aware of it, and said she had opposed some of Musk’s savage DOGE cuts to the federal government but thought others had been worth making.
Ave Maria: Fox abruptly parted company with host Maria Bartiromo, leading to speculation she could be Trump’s next press secretary. Media site Status said the exit stemmed from Bartiromo leaking to the White House that Fox bosses ordered limited coverage of Trump’s July primetime speech about so-called election fraud.
Eyes in the sky: Traffic camera firm Flock taught cops how to surveil No Kings protests and “small parades” using its products and law enforcement databases, 404 Media reported.
🧠 Pop Quiz!
In 2002, which punk rock great memorialized his unlikely friendship with Maria Bartiromo with an eponymous song?
Keep your eyes out for the answer below!
🌏 Anywhere But America
🇵🇸 Don’t forget Gaza: Israel killed three Palestinians, including a 15-year-old child, with local officials saying two were killed in a supposedly “safe area” of Gaza. Israel released a plan designed to encourage emigration from Gaza, aiming to see 1.9 million people leave within seven years. So… ethnic cleansing.
🇵🇸 West Bank watch: Israeli authorities made a rare arrest of a settler over his suspected role in an attack on a Palestinian home in Qusra last Saturday. Mourners attended the funeral of two teens killed by Israeli forces in Al-Mughayyir. Two children were shot by Israeli troops in Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem.
🇺🇦🇷🇺 Peace chance: Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was a chance of an agreement to end the war he started by invading Ukraine, which said it expected a “new dynamic” in efforts for peace. Meanwhile, Kyiv said Russian drones hit a Coca-Cola plant outside the capital. Norway seized a Russian cruise ship on behalf of a Ukrainian energy company seeking compensation for assets seized by Moscow.
🇬🇧 GB blues: Donald Trump used an interview with GB News to raise doubts about backing Britain in any Falklands conflict with Argentina, and complain about a lack of UK support for his Iran war. Another UK broadcaster, Channel 4, showed footage of far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage admitting to undercover reporters from Verbatim Media that he broke UK election law by accepting U.S. money for three polls that benefited the party.
🇸🇴 New violence: Fighting erupted between Somali government forces and militias on the outskirts of Baidoa, in the southwest of the country. Officials said al-Shabab, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda, took part in the fighting.
🙄 WTF?!
The Trump administration has launched a website where you can play versions of classic arcade games, including a Tetris rip-off involving building a border wall and Snake, but you’re Border Czar Tom Homan rounding up immigrants. It’s hard to work out if it’s more pathetic or offensive.
🧠 Trivia answer: Joey Ramone.
📖 Weekend Reads
These Generals Fought for Israel. Now They See ‘Jewish Terrorism’ as the Threat
Under a triple byline, the New York Times reports how former Israeli generals, intelligence officials and prime ministers are accusing Jewish settlers in the West Bank “of committing ethnic cleansing with government support.” Moshe Ya’alon, a former army chief of staff and defense minister under Benjamin Netanyahu, “recently likened the ideology of extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank to that of World War II Germany. ‘What is Jewish supremacy?’ Mr. Ya’alon, long considered a security hawk, recently said on Ynet, an Israeli news site. ‘Eighty years after the Holocaust, ‘Mein Kampf’ in reverse. The master race is us.’”
Elon Musk Unmasked in Alex Gibney Documentary: “Insane a Person This Chaotic Has So Much Power”
At the Hollywood Reporter, Steven Zeitchik reports on Alex Gibney’s forthcoming film about the richest man in the world. “None of what we have seen and thought about Musk can fully ready us for what the filmmaker has done here,” Zeitchik writes of a movie “grounded in the thesis that… a dangerous huckster is stealthily aggregating power to exploit us, primarily by centralizing and controlling massive amounts of data. Gibney’s basic take on Musk is that he’s a confidence man whose power comes only from the stock market and disappears the minute we see through the facade of sales pitches – but can do a whole lot of damage until that happens.”
Behind Closed Doors, John Fetterman Shows Little Interest in the Work of a Senator
Will Hobson and Siobhan Hughes of the Wall Street Journal file a devastating piece on how the Pennsylvania Democrat treats his job at home and on Capitol Hill. The reporters have private messages between Fetterman and staffers. Officials from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia want to meet? “They just want free trips to DC.” Paralyzed veterans from rural Pennsylvania want to discuss improving their care? Fetterman would rather talk to Fox about Israel and Iran. Three policemen killed near Fetterman’s hometown, York? A three-hour funeral is too long. Appalling.
ICYMI From Zeteo
Zeteo’s Martin Pengelly contributed to this newsletter.
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Still waiting for any white supremacist to explain what it is that makes whites superior. In my 50 years as a white Mississippian, the only thing I’ve seen “us” be “great” at is theft. Theft of land, of life, of ideas, of opportunity, of freedom, of dignity, of innocence, and on and on and on…
Why must we consider his thoughts at all? Money. Money in the hands of someone not really mentally fit to have it. People with empathy are better than those without, pretty simple really. When and why did we allow this? oh yeah capitalism, it has no empathy either, Bingo!