Formerly celebrated by politicians and the establishment media, climate activist Greta Thunberg has recently become a much more politically uncomfortable figure after clearly condemning Israel’s invasion and bombing campaigns.
However, Thunberg is standing her ground and, together with Fridays for Future Sweden, says that “silence is complicity” and that “you cannot be neutral in a genocide”.
In an opinion piece published in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, Thunberg and her colleagues write that at least 15,000 people, including 6,000 children, have been killed by the Israeli army, while the civilian population has no access to water, medicine, food or fuel.
They also point out that Israel is using starvation as a weapon, that UN experts and researchers have described the situation as an “impending genocide” – but that the West is turning a blind eye and instead trying to smear and demonize climate activists and their support for the Palestinians.
The death rate in Gaza is at a historic high, with thousands of children killed in just a few weeks.
Demanding an end to this inexcusable violence is a question of basic humanity. Silence is complicity. You cannot be silent in an unfolding genocide.https://t.co/Az5O7ZKYU5— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 5, 2023
Points to Sweden
“Standing up for climate justice is rooted in caring for people and their human rights. As a climate justice movement, it is natural for us to stand in solidarity with Palestinians and all affected civilians”, the climate activists write, explaining that they support Palestine for the same reasons they support Sapmi, Kurdistan or Ukraine in their struggle “for justice against imperialism and oppression.”
“The fact that Hamas murdered Israeli civilians in a horrific attack can in no way legitimize Israel’s ongoing war crimes. Committing genocide is not self-defense or proportionate in any way. This is in a broader context where the Palestinians have lived for decades under suffocating oppression by what Amnesty International has defined as an apartheid regime”.
It also criticizes the Swedish Armed Forces’ involvement with Israeli arms companies, saying that Sweden finances “Israel’s occupation and killing”.
“When UN experts call on the world to act to prevent genocide, we as fellow human beings have a responsibility to speak out. Calling for an end to this violence is a matter of basic humanity, and we urge everyone who can to do so. Silence is complicity. You cannot be neutral in a genocide”, it concludes.
