The State of Israel has responded after a social media post by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg stirred up controversy. Greta’s post was in support of Palestine. “The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected,” the 20-year-old posted to X.
Greta originally posted a photo of herself with three other activists with signs that read, “Free Palestine,” “Climate Justice Now,” “This Jew Stands With Palestine” and “Stand With Gaza.” The tweet was later deleted because it featured a blue octopus with a frowning face sitting on one of the activists’ legs. Greta said she did not realise that this could be perceived as an antisemitic symbol.
Greta later shared an identical photo again, but this time the octopus was missing. “The toy in the picture is a tool often used by autistic people as a way to communicate feelings,” Greta explained.
What did the State of Israel say?
Israel’s X account, which is managed by the Middle Eastern country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fired back after Greta’s second post, saying, “@GretaThunberg, Hamas doesn’t use sustainable materials for their rockets which have BUTCHERED innocent Israelis. The victims of the Hamas massacre could have been your friends. Speak up.”
Greta, in her post, had stressed that she is “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.”
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has said that it will remove references to Greta following her post. “Hamas is a terrorist organization responsible for the murder of 1,400 innocent Israelis, including children, women, and the elderly, and it has abducted over 200 people to Gaza,” the ministry said. “This stance disqualifies her from being an educational and moral role model, and she is no longer eligible to serve as an inspiration and educator for Israeli students.”
Several airstrikes have been conducted by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank after Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7. Over 1,400 people – mostly innocent civilians – were killed in the Hamas attack.
Meanwhile, a recent hospital bombing in Gaza killed hundreds, according to Palestinian officials. As Israeli airstrikes were blamed, the IDF vehemently denied the allegations. The IDF said in a statement that “an analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit.”