22-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who first gained notoriety through her climate activism as an adolescent, has been actively supporting Palestine since 2023. She has also joined Freedom Flotilla campaigns this year, which aimed to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver.
In fact, from the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid to Palestine, Thunberg spoke on her beliefs regarding certain school teachings of “false” narratives that misrepresent the realities and horrors of genocide.
“I think [schools] should bring up early warning signs of genocide, such as the Holocaust,” said Thunberg, “and apply those to what we are currently seeing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“We need to teach children from a young age that this is a very, very dangerous slippery slope. It is absolutely crucial in understanding how our world is if we are to do anything to change it.”
“The current education systems have absolutely failed us in teaching an understanding of the historic times we are living in, and to learn from history to prevent these things from happening time and time again,” she said.
Thunberg was initially inspired to advocate for Palestine after witnessing people in the UK protesting against their government’s ban on Palestine Action.
“I’m very inspired by the huge mobilisation that has been happening in the UK for the people of Palestine, which I think we can learn a lot from,” said Thunburg, “People of all ages, not only student encampments, but also those brave people who might face terror charges just by saying they support Palestine Action. The UK government is a disgrace to everything we know.”
Thunberg spoke on her own experience with such, “I didn’t learn about what was going on in Palestine in school because it was always portrayed as a conflict. Then, when you discover that this is a genocide, this is an occupation, an apartheid, ethnic cleansing, then it is not at all what we have been taught in school,” said Thunberg.
Under international law, genocide is defined as actions done with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Earlier this week, the British government concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza do not line up with those of genocide; however, Thunberg argued against this, saying that the genocide was “undeniable.”On top of this, a UN special committee has found Israel’s actions to be “consistent with the characteristics of genocide.”
“We were taught that to change this, we can save paper and turn off the lights to save energy. It was a kind of pat on the head, being like: ‘No, no, don’t exaggerate; don’t worry about anything; we’ve got everything under control,’ when it was so painfully clear that we didn’t have anything under control. That was extremely patronising,” said Thunberg, reflecting on the reactions that she and many other youths have gotten in direct response to their activism.
Sources: The Times, Arab News
