Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is drawing new attention for her apparent support for Palestinians in Gaza amid calls for a ceasefire.
Thunberg, 20, posted a photo on Friday to her 14.6 million Instagram followers showing her and three allies holding signs in favor of Palestinians in Gaza, including “I stand with Gaza” and “This Jew stands with Palestine.” Another sign reads, “Climate justice now!”
On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry told the Associated Press on Friday that 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 others have been wounded. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, the AP said.
An Israeli military spokesperson said the families of 203 people thought to have been kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza had been notified.
“Today we are striking in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza,” Thunberg wrote in a caption for the image, also shared to her 5.4 million X (formerly Twitter) followers. “The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.”
Thunberg’s encouragement of a ceasefire has been shared by pro-Palestinian groups in the United States, in addition to progressive members of Congress who have called for the Biden administration to be more forceful in talks with Israel and Middle East nations to save innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives.
Social media users tried to make sense of the association between the Middle East war and climate change as advocated by Thunberg, who was arrested Tuesday in London for protesting the Energy Intelligence Forum, and her companions.
“In the caption accompanying her Instagram post she claims she is ‘striking’ despite being on a permanent strike and not appearing to have ever had a job in the name of climate change,” said one X user. “She made no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel which killed at least 1,300 people and the 200 hostages currently being held captive by Hamas.”
Tamar Zandberg, an Israeli politician who previously served as the country’s environmental minister, addressed Thunberg directly on X.
“I belong to the Israeli left that supports peace and human rights,” Zandberg wrote. “What Hammas [sic] did on October 7th has nothing to do with those values, nor with the Palestinian claim for freedom.”
“So @GretaThunberg ‘stands with Palestine’ – ignoring the hostages, the 1400 slaughtered in a terror attack and rejecting Israel’s right to defend itself,” wrote journalist David Collier on X. “She alienates EVERYONE concerned about the climate who doesn’t support Hamas terrorists. Thunberg really is a prize idiot.”
“Greta Thunberg finally reveals her true face by standing with terrorists and supporting massacres,” said another X user. “And in case you had any doubt, her account doesn’t say a word about the 1,400 Israeli civilians slaughtered by her Hamas friends.”
Chris J Ratcliffe for Greenpeace via Getty Images
Thunberg’s post also garnered praise, including from pro-Palestinian supporters and climate change activists.
“So happy to see Greta Thunberg finally be in solidarity with Palestine & its liberation,” wrote a climate justice activist on X. “Two years ago, she took a neutral stance but we can always learn & grow. Environmentalism cannot coexist with genocide, apartheid & settler colonialism.”
Newsweek reached out to Thunberg and her climate change organization, Fridays For Future, via email for comment.