Greta Thunberg removed from Israeli curriculum over Gaza support


Jorg Luyken
Mon, 23 October 2023

Greta Thunberg, right, calls for 'justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians'

Israel has announced that it will remove all references to Greta Thunberg from its school curriculum, after the Swedish climate activist expressed support for Gaza.

The Israeli education ministry said Ms Thunberg had disqualified herself from “being an educational role model” after she was photographed last week holding up a sign that read “stand with Gaza”.

“Hamas is a terrorist organisation responsible for the murder of 1,400 innocent Israelis, including children, women, and the elderly, and it has abducted over 200 people to Gaza,” said the ministry.

“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.”

On Friday, Ms Thunberg, 20, posted a photo of herself and three other activists on Twitter, with all but one holding pro-Palestine signs.

Her remarks sparked a swift backlash from Israeli climate activists, who accused Ms Thunberg of damaging their movement.

In an open letter to Ms Thunberg published over the weekend, more than 100 Israeli activists said they were “deeply hurt, shocked and disappointed” at her “appallingly one-sided, ill-informed, superficial” understanding of the conflict.

Spearheaded by Rony Bruell, founder of the Israeli Forum of Women in the Environment, the letter bemoaned the fact that her stance on Israel comes in “complete contrast to your ability to deep dive into details and get to the bottom of complex issues”.

In an apparent response to the outcry, on Saturday Ms Thunberg moved to denounce Hamas’s attack.

“It goes without saying – or so I thought – that I’m against the horrific attacks by Hamas,” she said.

The controversy came after the Friday’s for Future movement, kick-started by Ms Thunberg’s school strikes in 2018, was criticised at the start of this year when its official Twitter account called for an end to Israel’s “apartheid,” saying “Yalla intifada!”

“We as Fridays for Future, as an anti-colonial, internationalist climate justice movement, stand united on the side of Palestinians and the Palestinian Resistance against these inhumane crimes,” said the movement.