Content warning: mentions of the Israel-Gaza conflict, descriptions of torture

The Global Sumud Flotilla began to sail from late August, with the intention of delivering basic humanitarian aid – medical supplies, baby formula, food, etc. – to Gaza, which, if you’re lucky enough to be unaware, is in the midst of a genocide (according to the UN). It attempted to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, an attempt which was thwarted by the Israeli military in early October. The 437 participants on the more than 40 ships were mostly arrested and taken to the high-security Ketziot prison in Israel.

Among those sailing on the Flotilla was Greta Thunberg. The 22-year-old Swedish activist first became known to us via the “How dare you”-type speeches of pre-COVID climate optimism, but more recently has widened the breadth of her activism, criticising the likes of oil companies, capitalism in general, and Israel’s perpetuation of genocide in Gaza. Her decrial of these entities has made her far less popular with politicians (which speaks volumes about the intersectionality of the aforementioned issues).

Some – mostly Israeli activists and right-wing commentators – have dismissed the Flotilla’s efforts as mere theatrics, and have singled out Thunberg as a “troublemaker” (a comment which seems deliberately demeaning and misogynistic). I disagree; if anything, the Flotilla has made me respect Thunberg even more than I already did, simply due to the sacrifices made by each of the passengers.

Firstly, the Flotilla’s passengers did not live in luxury as they travelled. Per Irish writer Naoise Dolan’s account, each passenger was to take no more than an aircraft carry-on-sized rucksack for personal items, in the interest of cramming as much aid on the boat as possible. Alongside such discomforts as sea-sickness and abuse from online (and sometimes in the press), the passengers also lived under constant intimidation from loud, unidentified drones, and fear of being captured as they watched other Flotilla boats being seized via live feeds.

The passengers also risked being detained and abused by Israeli forces – a fear which became realised. The prisoners were then subjected to atrocious conditions; it was claimed that Thunberg herself was dragged by her hair, beaten and forced to kiss the Israeli flag – a allegation that other activists have supported but the Israeli embassy denies. On being questioned by reporters once she returned to Sweden, Thunberg noted that she “could talk for a very long time about my mistreatment […] but that is not the story,” nobly deflecting attention to the continued suffering of Palestinians.

This, to me, is what makes Thunberg a true hero, and simply does not fit the definition of ‘virtue-signalling’, as some have alleged. Virtue-signalling would be reposting an AI-generated “All Eyes on Rafah” image to your Instagram story, or saying “Free f***ing Palestine!” at the concert you’re playing – both well-intentioned acts, but ultimately performative and a little ego-driven, especially when that’s the limit of your activism. (Though, Lorde has also removed her music from streaming in Israel, so that’s something.) Thunberg, by stepping off the pedestal, is platforming the welfare of Palestinians, making her genre of activism indelibly selfless. (Not to mention incredibly brave – a father-of-three from Walsall, who sailed on the Flotilla, said that he’d “accepted there could be no return from Gaza.”)

It’s also worth considering that Thunberg – as well as many other detainees, like several European politicians – is a well-known public figure. While the conditions she and other passengers have described are unenviable, they’re also practically de rigueur for what Israel has been doing to Palestinians, both since the start of the genocide and long before.

That’s not to say that the recent announcement of a ceasefire, alongside the return of Hamas’ twenty living Israeli hostages, is a bad thing on paper. It simply negates the livelihoods of the more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners being kept in Israel (many of them without charge or trial), the hundreds of thousands killed in Gaza, the families displaced, the children orphaned, the wives widowed, the lives ruined. The recently-announced peace plan has also been suspiciously made without the input of Palestinian voices, a move that has drawn scepticism. Israeli forces, meanwhile, have continued to murder Palestinians since the ceasefire announcement, like they have previously.

So while the Flotilla’s mission of delivering aid was unsuccessful (Dolan had earlier conceded, in her article, that it was “not likely” any boat would reach Gaza), it continued to shine a light on Palestinian struggles and reminded the global audience how unbalanced the fight is. And when our own Prime Minister is part of the problem, continuing to enable the sending of arms to Israel, the Flotilla’s mission was necessary and urgent. Thunberg and her crewmates risked their lives to help others. Isn’t that what activism looks like?

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