Greta Thunberg under fire over shirt calling for intifada against Israel

Far-left Swedish activist wears shirt calling for intifada against Israel during protest in Germany.

By World Israel News Staff

Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg has drawn criticism after appearing at a demonstration against German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Yalla Intifada.”

Thunberg joined approximately 1,800 protesters in Berlin’s Wedding district on Saturday, July 11, as they marched toward a Rheinmetall facility being converted from automotive-parts production to the manufacture of artillery-shell components.

Photographs from the demonstration showed Thunberg wearing the shirt while standing among protesters. The slogan combines “yalla,” an Arabic expression meaning “come on” or “let’s go,” with “intifada,” the Arabic word for an uprising.

The phrase is used as a rallying cry by some anti-Israel activists. Jewish and pro-Israel organizations argue that it invokes the Palestinian intifadas, particularly the Second Intifada, during which more than 1,000 Israelis were killed in suicide bombings, shootings and other attacks.

“Greta Thunberg attended a protest wearing a ‘Yalla Intifada’ shirt,” the Combat Antisemitism Movement said. “The slogan combines the Arabic word for ‘let’s go’ and Intifada, terror campaigns that killed thousands of people.”

Thunberg did not publicly explain the wording on the shirt.

The protest was organized under the slogan “Wedding without weapons. Together against war” as part of a campaign opposing Rheinmetall’s expansion of ammunition production in Berlin.

Demonstrators marched from Hanne-Sobek-Platz, near the Gesundbrunnen railway station, toward the company’s plant. Berlin police said protesters committed several offenses during the march, including concealing their faces, setting off pyrotechnics and chanting slogans prohibited under German law.

Police also said groups repeatedly attempted to leave the approved route and move toward Rheinmetall’s property. Fifteen people were detained, and authorities ended the demonstration at approximately 7 p.m.

The Berlin facility was formerly operated as an automotive-parts plant by Pierburg, a Rheinmetall subsidiary. It is being converted to manufacture steel bodies for 155-millimeter artillery shells.

The unfinished shell casings are expected to be transported to other facilities for the insertion of explosives and final assembly. More than 200 workers have reportedly been transferred to Rheinmetall’s weapons and ammunition division as part of the conversion.

The project is part of Rheinmetall’s broader effort to expand artillery-ammunition production following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing demand from Germany and other NATO countries. The company has said it aims to increase annual production to approximately 1.1 million 155-mm shells by 2027.

Anti-Israel organizations involved in the Berlin demonstrations accuse Rheinmetall of supplying weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon. They have demanded that the company halt deliveries to Israel and abandon the conversion of the Wedding facility.

The July 11 rally was one of several protests against Rheinmetall held in Berlin during the week. Smaller groups also attempted to block access to the plant.

Thunberg participated in another demonstration outside a Rheinmetall office near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on July 13. More than 30 activists staged a sit-in, with some attaching themselves to the ground before police removed and detained them.

Following that protest, Thunberg accused Germany of supporting Israel through continued arms transfers.

“We are doing this because it is our duty to protest against injustice and to stand up against genocide,” she said.

Thunberg called for the closure of the new production facility and an end to German weapons shipments to Israel.