The White House said Musk’s posts were especially harmful, given the spike in antisemitic incidents following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis and Israel’s ensuing invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Americans have “an obligation to speak out against anyone who attacks the dignity of their fellow Americans and compromises the safety of our communities,” Bates added.

Read More: Fallout From Musk’s Endorsement of Antisemitic Post Spreads

The rebuke cames in response to a string of derogatory online comments by Musk, including one agreeing with a post that accused the Jewish community of pushing “dialectical hatred” of White people. “You have said the actual truth,” Musk replied to the user on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and the world’s richest person with a net worth of around $218 billion, according to Bloomberg estimates, has repeatedly come under fire for promoting content attacking Jewish people at a time of rising antisemitism.

“It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of Antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Bates added.

On top of the reprimand from the White House, Musk drew backlash from the European Commission and International Business Machines Corp., which both announced they would no longer advertise on X. Musk, a self-described free speech advocate, also attacked the Anti-Defamation League, which has warned about an increase in extremist content and harassment since he acquired the platform.

Musk, who serves as X’s chairman, has accused the civil-rights group of being responsible for keeping ad sales down.

“I am deeply offended by ADL’s messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind,” he wrote.

The Biden administration earlier this year established a strategy to counter antisemitism in the US, as reports of hate-fueled attacks and harassment have increased over the past half decade.