For many decades Henry Ford’s antisemitic bigotry kept Jews from patronizing his automobile company. It was only after his passing and his successors’ repudiation of his venomous philosophy that Jews en masse started driving Fords. My two cars today are Fords. My first car was a 1966 Mustang. Fire engine red.
Consumer boycotts were not confined to Ford. After World War II many Jews refused to ride, much less buy, German cars in all price ranges, from Volkswagens to Mercedes, even though during trips to Israel Mercedes taxis were omnipresent as part of Germany’s reparations for the Nazi-run Holocaust.
With antisemitism on the rise, and given a worldwide soap box platform on Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, it is time for a new boycott to take hold.
Anyone, especially any Jew, that henceforth buys a Tesla should be shamed and ashamed. There are now sufficient electric vehicle alternatives besides those produced by Musk’s Tesla.
Musk claims free, uncensored speech is his mantra, even if it costs him revenue. It is unfortunate that a multi-billionaire like Musk, who does not really have to answer to shareholders or a board of directors because of his large holdings, can shrug off criticism.
But other companies and executives not so cushioned from public outrage are displaying their rejection of Musk’s endorsement of antisemitism by canceling advertising on X (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/technology/elon-musk-twitter-x-advertisers.html?smid=url-share).
Corporate action is not enough. Musk’s abhorrent antisemitism demands an individual, personal commitment.
Cease Fire Perspective: In the war against Hamas, Israel is said to have three main objectives: repatriation of the near 240 hostages taken by Hamas and it co-terrorist organizations on October 7, the destruction of Hamas infrastructure and the elimination of Hamas leadership in Gaza.
I would specify another objective—the discovery and destruction of rockets targeted at Israel. Since October 7 Hamas has launched an estimated 9,500 rockets, including 3,000 in the first hours of the assault, according to the Israeli Defense Force as reported by the Times of Israel.
Many of these rockets are launched indiscriminately, a “moonshot” meant to infuse terror among Israelis.
Israel has dropped many thousands more bombs, killing more than 13,000 Palestinians, prompting international calls for a cease fire. But, as Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, told “The View” on November 8, “A cease fire done prematurely benefits those who do not abide by any laws, by any rules, by any character values of human life.”
She noted that a cease fire existed on October 6 which Hamas brutally and inhumanely violated on October 7 (https://abcnews.go.com/theview/video/hillary-clinton-explains-recent-comments-israel-hamas-war-104730226 ).
