A group of 100 environmental activists in Israel has signed an open letter slamming Swedish climate crusader Greta Thunberg for social media posts on Friday expressing “solidarity with Palestine and Gaza.”
The X and Instagram posts, which featured Thunberg holding a sign reading “Stand with Gaza,” made no direct mention of the Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis by Hamas or the 212 people of dozens of nationalities currently held captive in Gaza by the terrorist organization.
“Today we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected,” she wrote.
The posts were “appallingly one-sided, ill-informed, superficial and are in complete contrast to your ability to deep dive into details and get to the bottom of complex issues,” the signatories said.
They added: “Do you think Hamas represents human rights and freedom? Think again!”
In her posts, Thunberg provides links to Palestinian groups and radical anti-Israel Jewish groups.
She also acknowledged that she deleted an earlier post featuring a toy octopus, after it came to her attention that it could be used as an antisemitic trope. Thunberg, who is autistic, said that it is often used as a tool for autistic people to convey their feelings.
In a follow-up X post after the backlash, Thunberg posted on Saturday: “It goes without saying—or so I thought—that I’m against the horrific attacks by hamas. As I said, ‘the world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.’ #StandWithPalestine”
International human rights lawyer and pro-Israel activist Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted in response:
“No, it doesn’t go ‘without saying,’ because you didn’t say it in the first place and have so now, only in response to the (deserved) outrage. Even now, you can’t bring yourself to mention Israel, instead choosing to side with Palestinians. You are an utter fraud.”
In response to Thunberg’s apparent support for Hamas, the Israeli Education Ministry decided to remove all references of the climate activist from textbooks, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on Sunday.
In addition, Haifa’s National Maritime Museum closed an exhibition focusing on Thunberg’s sea voyage from Europe to New York, local media said.
