Back in 2019, when the then-teenage Swedish activist achieved overnight fame by publicly shaming the world for allowing the climate crisis, I wasn’t impressed. “It’s regrettable,” I wrote, “that a confused and frightened teenager convinced by her elders that the world is about to come to a screeching halt has been thrust into the position of significantly moving that discussion…”
I also admitted, however, that I wasn’t any more of a climate scientist than she was and therefore less than qualified to offer seething Greta-like opinions.
Ah, but now the topic has changed. Lately, Greta has shifted her attention to the war in Gaza, a subject with which I’m more familiar. And, not surprisingly, she is siding with the terror-supporting Palestinians.
The first sign of that came late last year on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire,” the alleged climate activist posted. “Justice and freedom for Palestinians.”
To which Israel immediately responded that, “Hamas doesn’t use sustainable materials for their rockets which have BUTCHERED innocent Israelis.”
Then, a month later, Thunberg ceded some of her speaking time at an Amsterdam climate protest to two pro-Palestinian women. “As a climate justice movement,” she declared, “we have to listen to the voices of those…being oppressed. Otherwise, there can be no climate justice…”
At least one protestor felt annoyed enough to offer a counter speech of his own. “I have come here for a climate demonstration,” he said, “not a political view!” Then he was ushered offstage.
Greta’s latest expression of her newfound preference for Palestine over the planet came at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, earlier this month, where she joined thousands of other protestors demanding Israel’s exclusion.
“When Israel’s entrant, Eden Golan, came to Malmo,” Wall Street Journal columnist Dominic Green reported, “a leftist-Islamist rabble massed outside her hotel braying for Israel’s expulsion from Eurovision and the world. The mob included Greta Thunberg, once the face of the climate apocalypse, now a boycotter of the Jewish state.”
And oh yes, Green added, “Israel is a global leader in desalination and water management.”
But that wasn’t enough to stop the Greek and Dutch contestants from mocking Golan, 20, at the pre-final press conference. Nor did it dissuade the Finnish entrant from publicly apologizing for being filmed with her backstage.
Through it all, the young Israeli singer remained stoically silent, foregoing most scheduled events. And when it came time to sing, well, a police escort was offered to guarantee her safety en route.
One of the most vocal anti-Israel performers was Ireland’s Bambie Thug, a “nonbinary” self-described witch who performed a tone-deaf series of screeches called “Doomsday Blue” while dancing with a man dressed as Satan. “I cried,” is how she described her reaction to Israel’s qualifying for the finals.
Fortunately, a large majority of Eurovision’s viewers didn’t. Instead, they voted by phone and text, placing Golan’s song, “Hurricane,” a close second to Croatia’s among 25 entries, with Ireland coming in a distant sixth.
“F**k the EBU, I don’t even care anymore!” Thug screamed on video after the results were announced, referring to the European Broadcasting Union which produces Eurovision.
Thunberg made no public response that I know of, having been arrested the day before. Prior to the announcement of winners, though, she’d posted a predictable tweet. “We will not accept that a country currently committing genocide is allowed to artwash themselves,” she said. “The world cannot remain silent…”
A great number of experts more knowledgeable than I have written extensively on why what Israel is “committing” these days in no way resembles genocide. For now, though, let me just say this: from where I sit, a witch dancing with Satan against the Jews seems perfectly apt.
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David Haldane is an award-winning American journalist, author, and broadcaster with homes in Southern California and Northern Mindanao. His latest book, A Tooth in My Popsicle, is available on Amazon. This column appears weekly in The Manila Times.
