I remember discussing this with you soon after it happened, and I am as disappointed for Gidon and you as I was then. That anyone can stand in that place with a Holocaust survivor and not feel the pull of history, and the opportunity to hear a personal story and its eighty year impact is unconscionable to me.
Part of the culture of celebrity is that from inside the limelight, there comes a desire to DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE THE WORLD with it, much like politicians sometimes “take their positive opinion poll numbers out for a walk.”
Sometimes, a celebrity gets an activist idea on their own, but neuro-atypical celebrities like Musk surely get their ideas in that vein from an empathetic staffer who’s either naive enough (or gets paid enough) to think that they can nudge the boss past his real beliefs.
Eventually, the adults in the room get tired of the futility of it and find other things to do with their time.
Gidon deserves better than he got that day. All Jews do. Even those yet to be born must live with the cultural trauma of persecution.
This is breaking my heart. Too many thoughts to write here. But thank you for sharing, utmost love, respect and care to you and yours. In what reality can anyone deny the Holocaust. It’s there in physical, verbal, written, photographic, oral, judicial and more actual facts. It’s unbelievable and I am so very sorry. And so very sorry for this experience you both had. Love to you. And pleased to find your Substack writings. I am a new follower.
As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I understand the pull toward personal protection. But also I'm seeing this as a pivotal moment--it seems we will now live in a world where it is okay to sieg heil with impunity because, hey, we might be on the spectrum. Where kids do it and it's a joke, as you said. Where sieg heil does not make someone antisemitic. Where sieg heil is not a hate symbol.
Thank you Julie for sharing how this went down and I’m so sorry Gidon was treated this way by Elon. Very sad.
Very powerful story, Julie. I’m
assuming there was an entourage of Holocaust survivors, or not?
No. Just Gidon. He was the guest of honor. Or so it was said.
Perhaps what you witnessed wasn’t a beautiful demonstration of emotion from the richest man in the world but of Asperger’s in all its glory.
Please stop making excuses for a horrible human being.
I remember discussing this with you soon after it happened, and I am as disappointed for Gidon and you as I was then. That anyone can stand in that place with a Holocaust survivor and not feel the pull of history, and the opportunity to hear a personal story and its eighty year impact is unconscionable to me.
Part of the culture of celebrity is that from inside the limelight, there comes a desire to DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE THE WORLD with it, much like politicians sometimes “take their positive opinion poll numbers out for a walk.”
Sometimes, a celebrity gets an activist idea on their own, but neuro-atypical celebrities like Musk surely get their ideas in that vein from an empathetic staffer who’s either naive enough (or gets paid enough) to think that they can nudge the boss past his real beliefs.
Eventually, the adults in the room get tired of the futility of it and find other things to do with their time.
Gidon deserves better than he got that day. All Jews do. Even those yet to be born must live with the cultural trauma of persecution.
This is breaking my heart. Too many thoughts to write here. But thank you for sharing, utmost love, respect and care to you and yours. In what reality can anyone deny the Holocaust. It’s there in physical, verbal, written, photographic, oral, judicial and more actual facts. It’s unbelievable and I am so very sorry. And so very sorry for this experience you both had. Love to you. And pleased to find your Substack writings. I am a new follower.
Thank you for sharing your story.
As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I understand the pull toward personal protection. But also I'm seeing this as a pivotal moment--it seems we will now live in a world where it is okay to sieg heil with impunity because, hey, we might be on the spectrum. Where kids do it and it's a joke, as you said. Where sieg heil does not make someone antisemitic. Where sieg heil is not a hate symbol.