Organizers remove Greta Thunberg from Gaza flotilla steering committee

Disagreements within the organizing body centered on external communication, with some participants arguing the mission was drawing more attention to its own disputes than to conditions in Gaza.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Activist Greta Thunberg is no longer part of the leadership of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is attempting to sail toward Gaza, as organizers shift their communications strategy and face mounting challenges at sea.

Thunberg, who earlier this year joined the vessel Madleen in an effort to breach Israel’s naval blockade, was listed on the flotilla’s website as a steering committee member until last week.

Italian daily Il Manifesto, which has a reporter aboard the flotilla, said she was spotted in Tunis dragging her suitcase from the committee’s flagship, Family, to another ship, the Alma.

“We all have a role: mine will not be on the board, but as an organizer and participant,” Thunberg told the newspaper.

According to Il Manifesto, disagreements within the organizing body centered on external communication, with some participants arguing the mission was drawing more attention to its own disputes than to conditions in Gaza.

The flotilla’s spokesperson, Yusuf Omar, announced Saturday that he was stepping off the ships, although he would continue to support the effort from land.

“The decision to move some media off the vessels is a strategic one to redirect more attention to the genocide in Gaza right now,” Omar said.

The campaign has been beset by difficulties since leaving Barcelona on August 31.

Bad weather forced an immediate return to port before a second departure the following day.

The ships reached Tunisia on September 7, three days late, and stalled there due to fuel shortages and bureaucratic delays at Bizerte. Several frustrated activists abandoned the voyage and returned to Tunis to arrange flights home.

Organizers also complained of drone harassment and other technical setbacks, though Tunisian officials denied the drone incidents.

After weeks of delay, the flotilla resumed sailing on Tuesday, charting a course toward Italy to join additional ships from southern Europe. The Sumud ship tracker showed most of the fleet moving between Sicily and Crete, with a few vessels lagging near Syracuse.