Climate activist Greta Thunberg and other members of the Swedish branch of the climate protection group Fridays for Future have accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the former climate icon wants to distance himself from anti-Semitic incidents and emphasizes that he does not speak for the entire climate movement.
The fact that Islamist Hamas, which rules Gaza, “murdered Israeli civilians in a horrific attack” cannot legitimize Israel’s “ongoing war crimes,” Thunberg and five other signatories wrote in an op-ed.
“Textbook Genocide”
This was published on Tuesday in the newspapers “Aftonbladet” (Sweden) and “Guardian” (UK). “Committing genocide is not self-defense and is not proportionate in any way,” they wrote.
Thunberg and her co-authors emphasized that they were only speaking for Fridays for Future in Sweden. The organization has always spoken out when people have to suffer or be killed, both in Kurdistan and in Ukraine, and will not remain silent now. They quoted Israeli historian Ras Segal, who described Israeli actions in Gaza as “by-the-book genocide” just a few days after the start of the conflict.
Thunberg wants to differentiate
At the same time, the group condemned anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents in Sweden. “Everyone involved in this debate has a responsibility to distinguish between Hamas, Muslims and Palestinians, just as the Israeli state must be distinguished from the Jewish people and Israelis,” they wrote.
Thunberg had already drawn criticism in October for, according to media reports, sharing on Instagram a phone call from a Germany-based pro-Palestinian group accusing Israel of genocide. Fridays for Future addressed the accusation of genocide in a separate post.
The Austrian and German sections distanced themselves. Only after heavy criticism did Thunberg declare her rejection of Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped about 240.
Source: Krone
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