The Thunberg Insufficiency

This is not going to a long post, indeed, it will be rather short because it need not be a lengthy diatribe on human rights, on the needs of the people, or anything grand. It is a simple request to approach an old problem in a new manner and to see if Israel can think outside the box.

The news has brought us the disturbing information that Greta Thunberg has once again decided to attempt to grace the Mediterranean shores with her presence, along with a number of other people who have joined her on this voyage to Gaza. The attempt is to, once again, bring a minor amount of supplies to the millions of Gaza in an attempt to bring attention to her cause and to that of the Gazans, for there really isn’t enough of that with Al Jazeera, which could be called Al JaGaza for their near 24-hour coverage of the Strip, but I digress. The world was informed that we were once again to be witnesses to the attempt to break through the Israeli sea lines and to deliver help to the masses. The likely response is fairly predictable and will likely involve the Israeli forces intercepting her boat while it is in international waters, the event coming at night, and the crew unloaded, and sent to their home countries.

There is a different way of addressing this issue and one that, just might serve to stop future attempts cold in their tracks. Instead of intercepting the ship, Israeli officials ought to allow Greta and company to land in Gaza. If they land they will quickly hand out their meager supplies and they will likely be overwhelmed by the number of hungry and starving people around them, people for whom they have no resources to give and who will see how shallow the effort really is. The whole world will see the reality of the Thunberg insufficiency. The world would quickly realize that to cover her and other flotillas is doing nothing but giving air to style over substance and the apotheosis of doing something that appears to be consequential but is greatly inconsequential. The Israeli reaction is what gives the flotilla its meaning, the interception at sea, the guns drawn, drama of the run is what the media latches onto and is what feeds the narratives of Israel’s lack of compassion and the lack of help to the Gazans. But if Israel were to allow the ship to land and the meager items handed out, quickly exhausted without having made a dint in anyone’s needs, the efforts collapse, the media runs away, and no one cares anymore for people who are going to make it through and who can’t do anything of value. They might be mocked and get vilified for having done nothing of value and to have wasted so much attention on so little deliverables. Discredit quickly comes to those who over promise and under deliver.

Someone will object that to let them land would place them in danger, that there would be great risk. This risk is no greater than that experienced by international reporters seeking to enter Gaza, the risk is no greater than that posed to many of the other men and women who are in danger in Gaza, the risk is no less than for those entering Gaza to deliver actual aid. Greta Thunberg and her entire crew are legally adults and legally eligible and allowed to make poor decisions. They are able to make life and death decisions and to risk their lives. If they are captured by HAMAS then they do become more hostages to negotiate over and more hostages to take food from HAMAS and they are no less hostages that have to wait for the Israeli government to end operations. There will be no added imperative to rescue them over and above the other hostages that remain. The greatest risk though is for Israel to keep looking like the big bad bully in the international world. If they go through and Israel sufficiently warns them as they sail by that they are risking capture and hostage taking then Israel has done its job. If there is international outcry what is Israel evading?

Israel will be subject to international outcry if they don’t go through, if they are intercepted in international waters, turned around, or if there is a problem during boarding. If Israel does not let them into Gaza, then there should be thought to letting them be intercepted in Israeli waters. If the ship is taken in Israeli waters the media has no story, they have no alleged villain and no one to blame for stopping the ship because then Israel is beyond question allowed to stop ships in its territorial waters.

Israel suffers from a multitude of self-inflicted media wounds in the international world because it can’t or it wont think outside of the box and try something different, something radical. If Israel blocks her boat and lets it be taken in international waters then it will be one more nail in the coffin, one more finger pointing moment for the world. Perhaps if they are taken as hostages they will serve as a warning for other would be aid delivery ships and the failure to rescue them will be a warning that they are likely to become hostages as well. Advertise through failure, you can come but you do so at your own risk and we will not rescue you. Sometimes you have to let stupid be stupid so that stupid learns.