Greta Thunberg Calls Genocide a Genocide, Media Shocked
Greta Thunberg, cheered in Athens, called Israel's actions in Gaza a 'genocide' after activists trying to deliver aid were expelled. The Independent frames this as news, yet this isn't Israel's first rodeo. Just fifteen years ago, in 2010, the Mavi Marmara flotilla, also carrying humanitarian aid and human rights observers, was violently intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters,
killing 10 activists. (Source: The Guardian, May 31, 2010). The pattern is consistent: blockade, aid ships, interception, then media pearl-clutching over 'expulsions' rather than sustained siege. One might wonder if the concern for these humanitarian missions would resonate more loudly if the US — a country that consistently greenlights Israeli military actions and provides billions in aid (e.g.,
$3.8 billion annually, per Congressional Research Service) — truly objected to preventing food and medicine from reaching a besieged population. Apparently, condemning blockades and state violence depends on whose blockade it is. How many 'expulsions' does it take before such actions are called what they are?