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Something odd and totally unexpected happened to me this month: I slowly but assuredly came to respect and, dare I say, support the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Aboard a floating vessel headed for one of the bleakest outposts the world over, Thunberg has animated the plight of the Palestinian people in a way that resonates with anyone, irrespective of political persuasion, who supports peace. And that includes me.
Though I still struggle to embrace her position (and tenor) on man-made climate change, Thunberg’s relentless and courageous campaign to provide aid to the nearly 2 million Palestinian people under constant threat and barrage by the government of Israel can no longer go unnamed. It is a hero’s journey and I support it. Speaking from one of the more than 50 ships crossing the Mediterranean this week, Thunberg was defiant.
“I’m not scared of Israel,” Thunberg exclaimed. “I’m scared of a world that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity and what we’re doing here is trying to show that there is still some humanity left, that there are still people willing to step up when all other means fail. But this is a last resort, this mission should not have to exist.”
This is Thunberg’s second attempt to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip after her first such voyage, aboard the British-flagged yacht Madleen, was halted by the Israeli navy in international waters this June. Thunberg and a crew of activists were detained and later deported, a scenario that Thunberg compared to “being kidnapped.” Israel’s foreign ministry accused Thunberg and the crew of staging a media event. They were right. Both voyages, with Thunberg aboard, can be considered nothing short of a media stunt, and that’s exactly why it’s working.
Without Thunberg’s presence, the Global Sumud Flotilla would struggle in the competition for global media coverage. Between what is becoming daily terrorism in the United States, the never-ending war in Ukraine, and the unspeakable purge of Christians in Nigeria, there are countless stories the world over that demand the eyeballs and attention of a news-hungry public. Thunberg’s attachment to what is now the largest maritime challenge to Israel’s blockade of Gaza makes for a specific cinema that keeps the cameras locked in, not only on Thunberg’s Mercy Fleet, but more importantly, its destination, the besieged port of Gaza.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, nearly 70,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip since the government of Israel began its multi-year campaign in the days after Hamas brutally murdered more than 1,300 innocent Israelis on October 7, 2023. Two wrongs do not make a right. The situation is now so dire in Gaza that doctors who have been on the ground in the region describe horrors beyond comprehension. Melted children. Headless bodies. Destruction in the most inhumane and disturbing ways one can possibly imagine. And that’s before the reports of starvation.
“We have a million children who are being starved to death,” said Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, an Australian emergency physician who has worked in Gaza during the siege. “A quarter of the population are at stage 5 famine which means that four out of every 10,000 children die a day at stage 5 famine. Two out of every 10,000 adults. When you reach stage 5 famine, food isn’t enough because if you give people food at that stage they could get things like refeeding syndrome and that could cause arrhythmias and heart attacks and that could kill them.”
Thunberg and the more than 500 crew members headed toward Gaza are not naive about what little role they can play in providing the sort of humanitarian aid needed to turn back two years of unrelenting besiegement by the Israeli government. For the real work to be done, world governments must apply whatever legal pressure possible to end arms transfers and deliver aid into the Strip.
“There are over two million people living trapped under a siege who are being systematically starved by Israel,” Thunberg said Monday. “We’re doing our bare minimum and stepping up where our governments are not fulfilling their legal obligations to act to stop a genocide.” With the fleet less than 400 miles from the shores of Gaza, Thunberg asked for world governments to ensure safe passage of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a request that the Turkish government granted when it sent navy frigates to tail the activists.
The newfound support for the humanitarian mission comes a week after dozens of world leaders walked out on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the United Nation General Assembly in New York City. As Bibi spoke, the auditorium emptied. Such was the impact of Muslim leaders who earlier in the week highlighted the devastation wrought by Israel. Even President Donald Trump, long one of Netanyahu’s closest allies, seemed ready for realignment when he spoke of the situation before jetting off to Long Island for last weekend’s Ryder Cup golf tournament.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,” Trump said from the Oval Office hours after speaking with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, one of Israel’s loudest critics. “I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen. I’m not going to allow it. I’m not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank. There’s been enough, it’s time to stop now, OK?” Trump later teased a deal that would both bring the hostages home safely and bring an end to the siege of Gaza.
Though critics rolled their eyes at Trump’s braggadocio, on Monday, with Netanyahu by his side, Trump announced a comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza. Trump’s 20-point plan, which is dependent on the compliance of Hamas, calls for the redevelopment of Gaza and for the territory to become a deradicalized, terror-free zone. The ceasefire deal will require Hamas to end hostilities and return the hostages within 72 hours of an agreement being reached. Whether the two warring parties can find common cause and what role exactly the United States will play in mediating peace on the ground in Gaza remains to be seen, but the development is nonetheless encouraging.
It would never have happened without the millions of activists, in America and abroad, who have lifted up their voices in unison to call for an end to the slaughter and starvation of the Palestinian people. Thunberg’s own particular brand of defiance has in no small way contributed to people from around the globe considering, if only for a moment, the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people. I know for me, as someone who once mocked the Swedish activist for her aggressive and unapologetic tone, Thunberg’s unrelenting push for peace in Gaza has made me reconsider her as an activist. She has made me painfully aware of just how little words mean, frankly, and how inept the pen can be when the world is on fire. She has inspired in me a new commitment to my own communities, where my neighbors suffer from fentanyl abuse and missed paychecks. For that, I am thankful. Greta has shown the way. Now if only I have the courage to walk through the door.