As yet, Greta Thunberg has not had her money shot. In terms of Insta-activism, her seafaring jaunt to deliver aid to Gaza has been farcical. It was always going to be.
First, let me say two things clearly. I totally support more aid going into Gaza: food and medicine are needed. I want us to stop selling arms to Israel. While I support the right of Israel to exist, I do not support its right to keep on killing the people of Gaza. It’s unbearable.
But the last thing the Israel-Gaza conflict needs is more martyrs, especially cute eco-warriors in short skirts. It also doesn’t need hypocrites – particularly ones who also claim to champion women’s rights. The great irony is that Greta, with her exposed legs, dissenting views and freedom to express them, would not be tolerated by Hamas. But clearly that’s by the by.
When it comes to the moral high road, the likes of Thunberg seek to occupy ALL of it, no matter how muddled the thinking. This is precisely the problem.
Pretending you can sail into a war zone and “help” is a grandiose delusion. But, of course, Greta and her “aid boat” were largely a symbolic protest. What matters above all are the images of the selfie-yacht and the attention they can garner. Being boarded and detained (or, as she puts it, “kidnapped”) by Israeli forces gave her exactly what she had hoped for to kick against. But unfortunately for Thunberg, who had handily pre-recorded a video for just such an event, the actual image of the “kidnap” is her smiling as she is being handed a pastrami sandwich by an Israeli soldier.
As yet, Greta Thunberg has not had her money shot. In terms of Insta-activism, her seafaring jaunt to deliver aid to Gaza has been farcical. It was always going to be.
First, let me say two things clearly. I totally support more aid going into Gaza: food and medicine are needed. I want us to stop selling arms to Israel. While I support the right of Israel to exist, I do not support its right to keep on killing the people of Gaza. It’s unbearable.
But the last thing the Israel-Gaza conflict needs is more martyrs, especially cute eco-warriors in short skirts. It also doesn’t need hypocrites – particularly ones who also claim to champion women’s rights. The great irony is that Greta, with her exposed legs, dissenting views and freedom to express them, would not be tolerated by Hamas. But clearly that’s by the by.
When it comes to the moral high road, the likes of Thunberg seek to occupy ALL of it, no matter how muddled the thinking. This is precisely the problem.
Pretending you can sail into a war zone and “help” is a grandiose delusion. But, of course, Greta and her “aid boat” were largely a symbolic protest. What matters above all are the images of the selfie-yacht and the attention they can garner. Being boarded and detained (or, as she puts it, “kidnapped”) by Israeli forces gave her exactly what she had hoped for to kick against. But unfortunately for Thunberg, who had handily pre-recorded a video for just such an event, the actual image of the “kidnap” is her smiling as she is being handed a pastrami sandwich by an Israeli soldier.