100 environmental activists in Israel to Greta Thunberg after Gaza posts: ‘Appallingly one-sided, ill-informed’

A group of 100 environmental activists in Israel have signed an open letter to Greta Thunberg after she uploaded posts expressing “solidarity with Palestine and Gaza.”

The signatories say that Thunberg’s tweets and posts on the matter are “appallingly one-sided, ill-informed, superficial and are in complete contrast to your ability to deep dive into details and get to the bottom of complex issues.”

“Do you think Hamas represents human rights and freedom? Think again!” the letter reads.

“On Saturday, October 7th a brutal massacre took place in Israel. So far, we have counted 1,400 bodies of babies, children, women and men. All brutally murdered, shot, burned alive, molested before their deaths, raided by terrorists in their homes, in a music festival and randomly on the streets,” the letter reads.

“Hundreds of people were kidnapped to Gaza, ages ranging from 9 months to 90 years old, including babies and people with severe illnesses (like cancer, heart failure, Parkinson) without their medication, and people with special needs such as autism and dementia, and many more are still missing,” the signatories say.

The statement also raises the plight of Shoshan Haran who dedicated her life to helping African farmers, and is presumed held captive by terrorists in Gaza.

Week 270. Today we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.#FreePalestine #IStandWithPalestine #StandWithGaza #FridaysForFuture
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— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) October 20, 2023

Thunberg deleted her original post as the photo of her and three others included a toy octopus — the sea creature is sometimes used as an antisemitic trope — and replaced it with a similar photo, albeit without the animal.

“It has come to my knowledge that the stuffed animal shown in my earlier post can be interpreted as a symbol for antisemitism, which I was completely unaware of. The toy in the picture is a tool often used by autistic people as a way to communicate feelings,” she wrote. “We are of course against any type of discrimination, and condemn antisemitism in all forms and shapes. This is non-negotiable. That is why I deleted the last post.”

Amid growing outcry, Thunberg wrote on X/Twitter on Saturday that “it goes without saying – or so I thought – that I’m against the horrific attacks by Hamas.”