Israel deports Greta Thunberg after intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
Israel said campaigner Greta Thunberg left the country on a flight to Sweden via France on Tuesday, after she was detained along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat.
Of the 12 people on board the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, five French activists were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily.
Israeli forces intercepted the boat, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod. They were then transferred to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the foreign ministry said.
"Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France)," Israel's foreign ministry said on its official X account on Tuesday, along with a photo of the activist sitting on board a plane.
Five French activists who were also aboard the Madleen were set to face an Israeli judge, the French foreign minister said.
"Our consul was able to see the six French nationals arrested by the Israeli authorities last night," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
"One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today. The other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings."
In the early hours of Tuesday, Israel's foreign ministry said the activist group had arrived at Ben Gurion airport to "return to their home countries".
"Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority," it said on X.
The vessel carrying French, German, Brazilian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish and Dutch activists had the stated aim of delivering humanitarian aid and breaking the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.
- Dire humanitarian conditions -
Israel's interception of the Madleen about 185 kilometres (115 miles) west of the coast of Gaza, was condemned by Turkey as a "heinous attack" and Iran denounced it as "a form of piracy" in international waters.
In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack.
A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead.
On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place for years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons.
Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.
Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.
Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency.
The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,927 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable.
Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
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I think that is such an important testament to the importance of our cultural institutions in sharing history in a way that shapes our understanding of the past." In 1989, Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning writer and Holocaust survivor, was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ rights organization. At the ceremony, Wiesel said: "Those who hate you hate me. Bigots do not stop at classes, at races, or at lesbians and gays. Those who hate, hate everybody." The Holocaust Museum in D.C. opened on April 26, 1993, a day after the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. And the stories of homosexual victims of the Holocaust were included. US President Barack Obama hands to gay rights activist Frank Kameny a pen which he used to sign a presidential memorandum regarding federal benefits and non-discrimination June 17, 2009 in the Oval Office of the... US President Barack Obama hands to gay rights activist Frank Kameny a pen which he used to sign a presidential memorandum regarding federal benefits and non-discrimination June 17, 2009 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. More MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty A Blessing of Memories "I think it resonates so deeply because it's recent history," Gurwitz said about most of the LGBTQ+ history on display at the exhibition. "And it is significant change over time. We can all find moments that we remember, that trigger our own experiences and allow us to see that we have been part of this evolution. So, I think it is actually tremendously moving for people who come in the door." "The rich and interesting and pulls in local context, national context, international context, Jewish stories, non-Jewish stories. There is so much to engage with and to learn that even people who feel like they know this history will have something to learn in this exhibition, and that's extraordinarily gratifying." It's the context of these stories being told through the prism of diverse perspectives that makes "LGBTJews in the Federal City" particularly poignant after the events of May 21. "May their memory be a blessing" is a traditional Jewish expression of condolence after someone dies. Capturing those memories, the lives lived and tragically cut short, like Lischinsky and Milgrim, are what make the work of institutions like the Capital Jewish Museum vital. As Leavitt said about the exhibit before the shooting, she hopes the exhibition is "one way for people to see their story, whatever their identity is." LGBTJews in the Federal City will be on exhibit until January 4, 2026.
