The discussion at the international “Fridays for Future” about the attitude to the Middle East conflict is deepening the rifts between young climate protectors from the Global North and the Global South.
Shortly before COP28 in Dubai, the international protest movement “Fridays for Future” (FFF) is busy with an internal debate about structures and responsibilities. The positions on the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and the Israeli army’s war in the Gaza Strip differ widely. This weakens the movement. After the debates about anti-Israel calls and comments on the Instagram account of the international “Fridays For Future” and through controversial statements by figurehead Greta Thunberg on this topic, the German and international youth movements have grown apart.
At the COP28 in Dubai, the youth movement activists want to mend the rift as much as possible. The German FFF section says that they will seek discussions with international partners about this. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised the position of the German FFF section in this context: “What makes this generation so strong is their willingness not to give in to the complexity of the climate crisis,” she said on Wednesday in Berlin.
Baerbock praises the attitude of the German FFF section
In the Middle East crisis, “political circles that claim to think progressively unfortunately did not automatically show this willingness.” Anyone who spreads “supposedly anti-colonialist attempts to justify Hamas’ violence” is justifying terror and barbarism. “There can only be freedom for Palestinians if there is also freedom for Israelis,” said Baerbock. “That’s why it was so important that so many German climate activists took a clear position against Hamas terror and against open and hidden anti-Semitism.”
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It is currently unclear whether there will be an FFF meeting and a joint statement at COP28 in Dubai. Other parts of the protest movement are keeping a low profile: the Climate Action Network International, the umbrella organization of the international environmental movement, did not want to comment on these questions when asked by Table.Media. The development shows: The structures of FFF International have so far been so decentralized and open that there is no uniform line on the question of Palestine policy. The position of the German FFF group is not representative of the global movement. But its importance is great – because it contributes a large part to the financing of the protests.
FFF International: A social media fiction
On October 25th Fridays for Future International’s Instagram account, @fridaysforfuture, posted a post accusing Western media of brainwashing about Israel. It was not the first pro-Palestinian positioning on this account; Greta Thunberg had also previously published a photo with a “Stand with Gaza” sign. But the choice of words in this now-deleted posting was harsher: the Israeli government is described as an “apartheid regime” that is carrying out a “genocide” against the Palestinian population.
The Israeli section of FFF, on the other hand, expressed its sympathy for the victims of the violence. Yarden Israeli, spokesman for the section, told Table Media: “There is a lack of coordination between the different branches of FFF after the current war. We have felt this lack because no representatives of FFF international have contacted us as the branch whose activists are directly affected. We were deeply disappointed that they did not contact us. And we were deeply disappointed that the October 7 massacres were not publicly condemned.” Because FFF Israel sees COP28 primarily as greenwashing, it will not send delegates to Dubai.
FFF without a formal organizational structure – no official contact persons
There is no formal organizational structure behind the Fridays for Future International social media accounts like in Germany. Publications on the international account can be suggested by individuals and are voted on in chat groups with over 100 people. There are no official contact persons for the press. FFF International is, in a sense, a social media fiction.
The criticism nevertheless also affected Fridays for Future Germany. On the Instagram account “@fridaysforfuture.de”, which has almost the same name and also uses the same logo as a profile photo, the German organization wrote on October 26th: “No, as previously emphasized, the international account does not speak for us . No, the post has not been coordinated with us. No, we do not agree with the content.”
Luisa Neubauer also told the dpa: “We strongly distance ourselves from the anti-Semitic posts on international channels.” That wasn’t enough for the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. He called on local activists to break away from Fridays for Future International and change the name. At the same time, various activists pointed out that as a climate movement they did not want to be at the center of the debate about the Middle East conflict.
“The movement can only lose in the Middle East conflict”
“In recent years, climate activists from Fridays for Future have increasingly positioned themselves in the Middle East conflict or in transgender issues,” observes sociologist Sven Hillenkamp. Hillenkamp describes himself as part of the climate movement and provides strategic advice to various civil society actors. He has been warning against getting involved in these issues for a long time. “I understand the pull of the addition that climate activists also want to position themselves on other issues. But you always lose approval.”
Hillenkamp warns of a split in the movement: Greta Thunberg has lost the support of Fridays for Future Germany and the sympathy of the Western middle class. Luisa Neubauer, on the other hand, becomes distant from the Global South and the large left-progressive part of the movement. Both lacked nuance. One side remained largely silent about Israeli suffering and Palestinian crimes – the other side, on the other hand, remained largely silent about Palestinian suffering and Israeli violence. “If Fridays for Future split over an issue that is not related to the movement, that would be absurd.”
Climate justice in the Israel-Palestine conflict
However, for part of the FFF movement, the Israel-Palestine conflict is not an issue that is alien to the movement; it goes to the substance of the self-image as a climate justice movement. Sven Hillenkamp divides Fridays for Future into two different movements: “One part is simply an environmental movement with a focus on climate change. The other is essentially an autonomous, left-wing radical movement without violence. They say that if we want to achieve justice, we have to change everything. The mode of production, the political structures, our lifestyle.” This part of the movement, to which Thunberg also belongs, has brought the perspectives of indigenous people and MAPA activists to the fore in recent years. (MAPA stands for Most Affected Peoples and Areas.) For them, Palestinians are indigenous people who are being driven out and exploited by Israel.
The extent to which the issue polarizes the movement was shown again last Sunday: Greta Thunberg caused a stir at a large climate demonstration in the Netherlands when she once again expressed her solidarity with the Palestinians. “No climate justice on occupied land” she shouted from the stage into the microphone, which another demonstrator tried to take away from her shortly before in a scuffle. He complained that the event had become too politicized and that there was no longer a climate demonstration.
In this understanding, the “end of the occupation of Palestine” is a question of climate justice and is also being demanded by prominent actors in the international climate movement such as the Climate Action Network.
Separation in Germany
There have also been different positions on the Middle East conflict within Fridays for Future Germany for a long time. Some activists who were more internationally oriented in their work have left the German organization for various reasons. “I tried for a long time to build more internationalist perspectives and structures, which was repeatedly blocked and led to frustration,” says Line Niedeggen, for example, who helped shape the public relations work of Fridays for Future Germany for a long time.
Niedeggen is now primarily active internationally and is currently helping to prepare for the upcoming world climate summit in Dubai. The Fridays for Future International delegation will consist of 20 MAPA activists. To finance their participation, there is crowdfunding in Germany – so far just over 30,000 euros have been received. An international fundraising campaign has so far raised just under £2,100. Although Fridays for Future International has never received money directly from Fridays for Future Germany, according to Niedeggen, a lot of resources lie with German organizations, especially with a view to the COP. “Some activists are now worried about getting less support from Germany.”
The youth perspective is highlighted by the organizers of COP28: There is a separate theme day for youth. As the host, the UAE is awarding scholarships to 100 “Youth Delegates” from the countries of the Global South to Dubai. Two of these youth delegates come from Palestine. However, their influence on the negotiations is very limited. It is still unclear whether the official youth delegates will take part in the climate movement’s protests.
“Germany cannot control the others”
One of the MAPA activists going to COP28 for Fridays for Future is Daffa Praditya. The 19-year-old runs Fridays for Future in Indonesia and lives in Jakarta on a street that will be under water in 20 to 30 years due to rising sea levels. He noticed the controversy about the Instagram post, but Germany’s position doesn’t play that big of a role internationally: “It’s great that so many people in Germany are aware of the climate crisis and are going on strike. But Fridays for Future Germany is therefore not the center of the international climate movement, it cannot direct what other groups are doing.”
The planning for the world climate summit remains unaffected by the controversy. “Our demands will be similar to last year: We are still demanding money from the Global North with which the Global South can pay for damages and losses caused by the climate crisis.” A big focus of Fridays for Future at COP28 is also a “just end of fossil energies” (equitable fossil fuel phaseout). According to Line Niedeggen, this also requires “massive financing commitments from industrialized countries”. By Leonie Sontheimer
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