This story was originally published in the Guardian, and reproduced here with the Climate Desk collaboration. Greta Thunberg’s photo of her holding a “stand for Gaza” sign was posted on Instagram in October. The backlash in Israel, Germany and other countries was swift and fierce. A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces initially told Politico, “whoever identifies themselves with Greta
As part of the Climate Desk collaboration, this article, which was first published by the Guardian, is reproduced around.
Greta Thunberg’s backlash in Israel and Germany came swiftly after she posted a picture of herself on Instagram in October while holding the” stand with Gaza” sign.
Whoever identifies with Greta in any way in the future, in my opinion, is a terror supporter, an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson first told Politico, but he later changed his mind. Israel’s official X account stated that” Hamas does n’t use sustainable materials for their rockets” and urged Thunberg to defend its victims. Any mention of the Finnish climate activist would be removed from the curriculum, according to the Jewish education ministry.
Politicians and pundits from all social spheres demanded that the national branch of Fridays for Future, the student protest movement Thunberg founded in 2018, distance itself from her viewpoints in Germany. In the weeks that followed, the group directly distanced itself from the international group’s social media posts after issuing a statement stating its support for Israel. Has Greta Thunberg betrayed the climate movement? was the title of a long article published under the headline of Germany’s top news publication Der Spiegel that contained personal criticisms of the young actor and his appearance.
Environmental activists in wealthy nations have been caught off guard by the violence that has been occurring in Israel and Gaza since October7. The soft coalition of movements, many of which have centered their support on inclusivity and international justice, is debating whether or how to take a position on the conflict as world leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 summit.
Positions adopted have caused divisions both within and between groups. According to Stefan Aykut, director of the Center for Sustainable Society Research at the University of Hamburg,” the regional debates are less about the conflict itself.” Instead, the prominent historical prism within each society quickly engulfs them.
” Until people called her out, she did n’t even bother to bring it up.” It hurt in a way that I do n’t believe you can adequately describe.
In recent years, it has been argued that Israel’s security is inextricably linked to the European state today because the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis is a key component of German post identity.
While activists in the UK and the US have criticized Israel with harsher language, calling its bombing of Gaza a “genocide,” which Israel rejects, and urging their governments to call for an immediate ceasefire, economic groups in Germany have expressed solidarity with Israel during the current conflict as well as sympathy for Israeli suffering.
As racism against Jews and Muslims has risen across the US and Europe, economic organizations that are not engaged in combat are under increasing pressure to take a stand. Additionally, it has increased the risk of using the incorrect tone.
A violet octopus toy that was visible in the picture’s corner contributed to some of the backlash that Thunberg posted. The toy resembles a symbol used in prejudiced propaganda to fraudulently assert that Jews rule the world. It is an emblem of neurodiversity that is well-liked by people with autism to express feelings. According to Thunberg, who suffers from autism, she was aware of the connection and replaced the image with one that omitted the toy.
In the equal post where she spoke out against Israel, Thunberg was also criticized for failing to condemn Hamas or stand up for its victims.
A Nigerian-Israeli climate activist named Sharona Shnayder claimed that she did n’t even bother to bring up the incident until people called her out after she lost friends in the Hamas terror attack at a music festival close to Israel’s border with Gaza. It hurt in a way that I do n’t believe you can adequately describe.
According to Shnayder, who started the litter-picking movement Tuesdays for Trash and was herself motivated by Thunberg, the lack of empathy for Jewish victims of the war in popular discourse has turned off regional activists. ” I discuss trash a lot. I discuss waste control. I really thought,” Wow, maybe I have no value in this world,” at that precise moment.
The Jewish government reports that on October 7, Hamas militants killed 1, 200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 200 others. Health officials in Gaza claim that since therefore, Israel has starved more than 2 million Gazans of food, water, fuel, and medical supplies.
We understand that without peace, there can be no climate justice.
While Fridays for Future declined to comment on this article, FFF Sweden, including Thunberg, clarified their position in a piece published in the Guardian on Tuesday, stating that,” Contrary to what some have claimed,” they have no “become radicalized” or “turned democratic.” We have often been social because we are a movement for justice.
The German branch has stated that it” sees” the suffering of Gazans and is “greatly concerned” by the rising anti-Muslim racism in Germany while also standing in solidarity with the victims of Hamas violence and with Jews around the world. It stated that none of these are contradictions. Our hearts are large enough to experience everything at once.
When it comes to protecting Hebrew lives and Israel’s right to exist, there is no room for compromise, according to a group spokesperson. We stand in solidarity with civilians in Israel and Gaza because we are horrified by the suffering that honest lives go through.
In terms of the breadth of its social and media support for Israel’s response, Germany has emerged as an outlier among wealthy democracies. According to climate activism researcher Oscar Berglund at the University of Bristol,” Germany is a unique case when it comes to those politics.”
Another climate advocacy groups have condemned the killing of civilians on both sides without naming the perpetrators, despite a death toll that began great and has quickly increased.
We have been really deliberate about taking a slower, more mindful approach and speaking where it seems acceptable for us to do so in solidarity, according to Namrata Chowdhary, head of open engagement at campaign group 350.org.
The organization has demanded a cease-fire and adherence to international humanitarian law. We acknowledge that without peace, there can be no climate justice, and by calling for it, we’re being quite clear about having peace on both sides.
Related demands were made by Greenpeace:” No matter who does it, targeting civilians is a war crime.”
Every fight for justice, including the fight against climate change, incorporates the Arab struggle.
This past week, Cop28 has been concentrating on the unfolding horrors and how to react to them as a movement. While the summit has been boycotted by two significant climate justice coalitions—the Palestinian Environmental Network Network and La Via Campesina—a global movement that represents millions of peasants, impoverished workers, farmers, Indigenous people, pastoralists, and migrant farmworkers—some have seized the chance to draw attention to the issue.
Asad Rehman, director of the UK-based organization War on Want and the man behind the international campaign to demand climate justice, called for a continuous ceasefire last Thursday, the first day of summit. The UNFCCC is the United Nations body in charge of overseeing the conference. No nations or businesses may be mentioned, and the UNFCCC must pre-approve all protests. According to Rehman,” The Arab struggle is woven into every struggle for justice, including climate justice.” ” We desire a liberated Palestine.”
The largest coalition of 1, 900 climate action groups in the world, the Climate Action Network, is led by West African anti-apartheid activist Tasneem Essop. He stated that while the ongoing genocide in Gaza may not directly affect the negotiations, it will contribute to the growing hostility and mistrust between the world south and the international north.
In the UK, numerous climate justice organizations have sided with the Israeli cause. Friends of the Earth UK was among the first to explicitly state that it supported its Arab sister organization “in its historic opposition to the occupation” of Arab lands.
” We observe a moral imperative and an operational benefit.” Environmental problems are rarely” just” environmental problems.
Extinction Rebellion referred to the” social punishment being imposed on innocent civilians in Gaza” as a “war crime” in an article posted on its website. Although the organization declined to comment on this article, XR groups have taken independent steps. XR Parents placed hundreds of children’s shoes on the steps of Trafalgar Square in London on November 11, the day of a controversial Palestine solidarity march and counterprotest that also happened to be Remembrance Day in the UK, and read the names of the 4, 100 Palestinian and 26 Jewish children who had already died at that time.
The director of Fossil Free London, Robin Wells, stated that her group had organized support for three of the major solidarity marches in London as well as their personal, smaller protests outside the energy companies BP and Ithaca for their contributions to the Palestinians ‘ dispute over the extraction of gas from Israeli-controlled fields in the eastern Mediterranean.
However, climate activists have disagreed on the proper value of supporting causes that go beyond fossil fuels, even beyond the moral dilemma of what stance to take.
The change in emphasis has caused some people to become unexpected distractions. A man recently stood up on stage and snatched Thunberg’s microphone from her hands during a protest in Amsterdam where she was speaking alongside Afghan and Arab women. He claimed that he had never come from a social standpoint, but rather to protest climate change.
Some organizations that promote climate change have decided not to comment on the war, and one of them added that they had not taken a stance on earlier conflicts. Others have claimed that social justice and climate change are also intertwined to disregard extreme violence.
Although intersectionality is unquestionably important for the climate movement, it is hardly a straightforward mathematical issue.
Greenpeace’s spokesperson stated:” We see both a proper benefit and an ethical imperative. Environmental problems are rarely” just” environmental problems. Whether it’s societal injustices causing the climate crisis or the effects of climate change raising food prices and fostering cultural inequality, some of the crises we face are interconnected.
Berglund claimed that the lack of explicit democratic values or goals is a problem that some environmental movements have encountered. He claimed that having a depoliticized climate movement was not feasible in the long run.
Additionally, activists must take into account the possibility of offending the populace and politicians they are attempting to reach and losing their support. Even though the climate movement is worldwide, according to Aykut at the CSS in Hamburg, its effects were” first and all” in the nations with the most control over emissions.
According to Aykut,” It is not only about uniting minorities, but likewise about persuading the general public.” Intersectionality is undoubtedly important for the climate movement, but it is not a straightforward math problem where you can increase the number of groups until you reach the majority. There is a chance of alienating another part of the movement every time you include emulation and address their concerns. This article, which was first published by the Guardian, is being reprinted below as a part of the Climate Desk partnership. Greta Thunberg’s backlash in Israel and Germany came swiftly after she posted a photo of herself on Instagram in October while holding the” stand with Gaza” sign. Whoever identifies with Greta, according to an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson immediately told Politico
This story was originally published in the Guardian, and reproduced here with the Climate Desk collaboration. Greta Thunberg’s photo of her holding a “stand for Gaza” sign was posted on Instagram in October. The backlash in Israel, Germany and other countries was swift and fierce. A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces initially told Politico, “whoever identifies themselves with Greta
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/12/greta-thunberg-gaza-war-israel-climate-movement-cop28/
