German bishops and Green Party distance themselves from Greta Thunberg

In recent days, statements made by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, which have been widely criticized as anti-Semitic, have caused a stir and criticism. Now German bishops, who had praised the commitment of the now 20-year-old in the past, are also distancing themselves.

After Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg's recent statements, which were widely criticized as anti-Semitic, German bishops who had praised the 20-year-old's commitment in the past are also distancing themselves. "We in the Diocese of Hildesheim view Ms. Thunberg's current statements on the escalation of violence in the Middle East as absolutely critical because they are one-sided and do not do justice to the complex situation in the Holy Land and because there is a lack of clear distancing from anti-Semitism," said the spokesman Lower Saxony diocese, Volker Bauerfeld, on Thursday at the request of katholisch.de.

In 2019, Hildesheim's Bishop Heiner Wilmer expressed his appreciation for Thunberg and the climate protection movement "Fridays for Future", which she largely initiated, during a service with around 2,500 teenagers and young adults. Thunberg was like a prophet for him, the bishop said at the time. The young Swede stands peacefully, without throwing stones, and calls on politicians to adhere to the agreements of the UN Climate Change Conference. Bauerfeld explained that it was not possible at the time to predict "how Ms. Thunberg would comment on the conflict in the Gaza Strip four years later."

Bishop Wilmer calls for countering anti-Semitism

The spokesman continued that Bishop Wilmer's trip to Israel just a few days ago "impressively showed" his attitude to anti-Semitism and the conflict in the Holy Land. As part of a visit to the country last week, Wilmer visited, among other things, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, where he remembered the victims of the Shoah and prayed for the victims of persecution and anti-Semitism. On the sidelines of the visit, he urged people to confront anti-Semitism in "the many faces" of these days and not to leave their "Jewish brothers and sisters alone." It is particularly painful that Jews in Germany are once again exposed to threats and discrimination and are becoming "a projection surface for deep-seated problems."

“We in the Diocese of Hildesheim view Ms. Thunberg’s current statements on the escalation of violence in the Middle East as absolutely critical because they are one-sided and do not do justice to the complex situation in the Holy Land.”

— Quote: Hildesheim's press spokesman Volker Bauerfeld

Thunberg used a climate demonstration in Amsterdam last Sunday to take sides with the Palestinians in the war in the Middle East. Wearing a traditional Palestinian scarf around her neck, she said at the rally that the climate movement had a duty to "listen to the voices of those who are oppressed and who fight for peace and justice." She also chanted “No climate justice on occupied land” several times, apparently alluding to the Palestinian territories. The Swede then passed the microphone to a woman who claimed that Israel was committing "genocide in my country" and was targeting hospitals and civilians. At sometimes aggressive "pro-Palestine demonstrations" in Germany in recent weeks, Israel has been repeatedly accused of committing genocide against the Palestinians.

Broad criticism of Thunberg's statements

Thunberg's statements at the demonstration were met with widespread criticism. Green Party leader Ricarda Lang criticized the statements as “absolutely indecent.” One could “almost say” that Thunberg was associating with perpetrators and victims. The activist misuses “the concerns of climate protection for a one-sided position.” The President of the German-Israeli Society (DIG), Volker Beck, described Thunberg's comments as the "end of Greta Thunberg as a climate activist." The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, criticized the climate activist as at least naive and perhaps even anti-Semitic.

Berlin's Archbishop Heiner Koch also distanced himself from Thunberg. “Archbishop Koch stands on the side of our Jewish neighbors,” the Archdiocese of Berlin told katholisch.de. Koch rejects all anti-Semitism outright and opposes it – even publicly. The archdiocese and the Evangelical Church in Berlin clearly expressed this attitude on November 9th. At the initiative of the two churches, more than 2,000 people commemorated the 85th anniversary of the National Socialist Kristallnacht on a “silent memorial walk” through Berlin that day. At the start, Koch called the memorial trail a “sign of solidarity with our Jewish neighbors today.”

Criticism of previous Koch statements on X/Twitter

In 2019, Koch put the enthusiasm for Greta Thunberg and the “Fridays for Future” demonstrations in the RBB in the context of the biblical scene of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. "For many, this was also a kind of triumphal procession for a folk hero who had aroused great expectations among people and on whom many hopes for improvement were pinned," said the archbishop at the time. At the same time, however, he emphasized that he did not want to make Thunberg a "female messiah" by comparing her to Jesus of Nazareth. But he wanted to remind people that “our society and also our church need real prophets from time to time who point out grievances and undesirable developments and suggest solutions – even if these do not meet with the unanimous consent of everyone.” Koch was then accused, especially on social networks, of having compared Thunberg to Jesus Christ.

The Archdiocese of Berlin also posted Koch's current statement on X/Twitter on Wednesday. There, Koch's previous appreciative words about the climate activist had previously been criticized in light of Thunberg's recent statements. Among other things, the right-wing Catholic Austrian internet portal "kath.net" had already asked Koch in a post on Tuesday "When will we finally distance ourselves from the anti-Semite #GretaThunberg?". In another post, Koch was asked about his previous statements about Thunberg: "Well, @ErzbischofKoch, how are you doing?"

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