The Israeli Ministry of Education said that it plans to remove any reference of environmental activist Greta Thunberg from school materials after the young Swedish activist posted a pro-Palestinian message on social media.
Thunberg, 20, turned heads on Friday after posting a photo to Instagram of herself and three others holding signs in favor of Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israeli-Palestinian war. The signs included phrases like "Free Palestine" and "Stand with Gaza."
In response to the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, the Israeli government has called for a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and has carried out its heaviest-ever airstrikes on the region. The Associated Press reported on Monday that more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 4,651 people have been killed in Gaza.
Anati Manshury, foreign press coordinator for Israel's Education Ministry, told Newsweek in a statement on Tuesday that after Thunberg's "recent statements in support of Gaza without condemning Hamas, the Israel Ministry of Education has decided to remove various references in the educational curriculum that present Thunberg as a role model and a source of inspiration for youth."
"Her character cannot serve as a model for our students, many of whom saw her as an inspiration," Manshury continued over email. "It is important to emphasize that [we] are not erasing her contribution to the history of the global environmental movement, but we will provide a factual account of her contributions, alongside those of numerous other activists."
Manshury also emphasized the education's ministry continued commitment to "climate change educational curriculum" and providing students with "age-appropriate tools to deal with the crisis."
The statement follows a letter signed by over 100 Israeli climate activists that accused Thunberg of taking "sides with terrorists, with the worst and darkest representatives of humans, and plainly—with the wrong side of history," The Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday.
Thunberg had also shared a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, that included information for several accounts in support of Palestinians and a call for a ceasefire in the conflict. Thunberg stated in the thread that she was "of course against any type of discrimination, and condemns antisemitism in all forms and shapes."
The state of Israel's official X account, which is managed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, responded to Thunberg's post on Friday along with pictures of victims of the October 7 attack.
"@GretaThunberg, Hamas doesn't use sustainable materials for their rockets which have BUTCHERED innocent Israelis," the account wrote on X. "The victims of the Hamas massacre could have been your friends. Speak up."
Israeli military spokesperson Arye Sharuz Shalicar also told Politico on Friday, "Whoever identifies with Greta in any way in the future, in my view, is a terror supporter."
Update 10/24/23, 11:13 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from the Israeli Ministry of Education.
