The Education Ministry has said it will remove any reference to climate activist Greta Thunberg after she published a post over the weekend holding an anti-Israel sign reading "stand with Gaza."
"Hamas is a terrorist organization responsible for the murder of 1,400 innocent Israelis, including children, women, and the elderly, and it has abducted over 200 people to Gaza," the ministry said. "This stance disqualifies her from being an educational and moral role model, and she is no longer eligible to serve as an inspiration and educator for Israeli students."
Thunberg faced criticism over the weekend from hundreds of Israeli climate activists after she posted on X that "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."
More than 100 signatures were included in an open letter sent to Thunberg, and several activists also responded to her directly on X.
The environmental leaders wrote in the letter that they were "deeply hurt, shocked and disappointed with your tweets and posts regarding Gaza" and that Thunberg should "look again at the atrocities conducted by Hamas."
"Greta Thunberg is the most well-known climate activist in the world today," responded Adam Teva V'Din. "In her influential position, Greta has expressed a one-sided and inconsistent stance, completely ignoring the cruel acts endured by Israeli citizens and the abduction of hundreds of people.
"Due to her position, when Greta addresses a different topic superficially and dismissively, it inevitably weakens the validity of her climate-related positions," the statement continued. "People from all walks of life might think that the shallowness she displayed on the other issue could cast doubt on the seriousness and depth of her climate activism. Those with vested interests could exploit this to portray climate activists as unserious and lacking depth. Therefore, even without addressing the ethical and moral implications she ignored, Greta is no longer a role model for us in the climate change context. We have plenty of other figures to look up to."
The Israeli response
Finally, on Sunday, a video replying to Thunberg in her language came out.
Israel environmentalists slam @GretaThunberg for ‘Stand with Gaza’ post | https://t.co/1KiHgTTedi@israelsstory @MaayanJaffe pic.twitter.com/GiMofYLEvm
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) October 22, 2023
In the video, Thunberg delivers the speech that made her famous, condemning world leaders for not doing enough to combat global warming. However, alongside her words are images of war victims and photographs from the Hamas massacre.
The video was produced by "Israel's Story," which works to tell Israel's story to the world.