Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist recently expressed her support for justice and freedom for Palestinians in a social media Post on Friday. In the post, she held a “Stand with Gaza ”placard along with others showing support for Palestine. She also mentioned that “The world needs to call for an immediate ceasefire, justice, and freedom for Palestinians and all affected civilians”. But her post received backlash due to a small plush toy which was visible in the photograph.
Thunberg was accused of conveying an “anti-Semitic message” because of the presence of the stuffed animal, which resembles an octopus.The criticism started because propaganda cartoonists have majorly used octopus imagery in anti-Semitic caricatures to imply a global Jewish conspiracy. The caricature deployed by the Nazi regime during their anti-Semitic campaigns.
In response to the criticism, Greta Thunberg deleted the initial post and shared the photo again after removing the stuffed toy. She gave a clarification that she was not aware of the potential interpretation of the toy as an anti-Semitic symbol. She mentioned that ‘The octopus toy was often used by autistic individuals as a tool to convey their emotions’. She also stressed that her intent was never to promote such hateful ideas and that is why she removed the previous post.
The post drew attention from Israel, with a response that criticized Thunberg. Israel pointed out that “Hamas does not use sustainable materials for their rockets, which have BUTCHERED to innocent Israelis.Their victims of the Hamas massacre could have been your friends. Speak up”, India today reported.
This highlights the complexity and sensitivity of issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the challenges one may face after expressing their views on social media.
