Vittorio and Greta

The irony abounds

This whole ridiculous saga with Greta Thunberg and her “selfie yacht” made me think of another misguided anti-Israel activist who ended up in Gaza, and no not because of a glitch with his seafaring GPS.

Vittorio Arrigoni became an icon for pro-Palestinian activism, remembered warmly by those chanting “Free Palestine!” from the comfortable streets of Europe and North America. His tragic death at the hands of extremists in Gaza should have been a wake-up call. Yet, unsurprisingly, the broader "Free Palestine" movement largely missed the memo. They continue championing a cause they often fundamentally misunderstand, happily glossing over the anti-Western undercurrent woven through the very ideology they blindly endorse.

He packed his suitcase

Vittorio Arrigoni with “resistance” tattooed on his arm in Arabic (photo: Al Jazeera)

Arrigoni was an Italian activist deeply committed to the Palestinian cause, and who believed he could live safely among those he aimed to help. He was woefully naïve.

In 2008, he arrived by boat at the Gaza Port as a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an anti-Israel organization allegedly trying to help Palestinians. In 2005, Israel had fully withdrawn from Gaza, and in 2007, Hamas had taken over the territory through a bloody coup. In comes Arrigoni, setting himself up as a Western activist, trying to assist the Palestinians in pushing back against the Israeli authorities. In November 2008, he was eventually arrested by the Israelis after, he set himself up as a Western activist, and got himself arrested by Israeli authorities while out on a Palestinian fishing boat. After his arrest, he managed to return to Gaza before the start of Operation Cast Lead which began in late December 2008.

When kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists in 2011, Arrigoni became a martyr of sorts, celebrated by those who saw his death as evidence of his devotion rather than as a glaring warning.

Let’s be blunt: The very groups Arrigoni sought to defend often harbor profound disdain for the Western principles and freedoms activists like him enjoy. It's the uncomfortable truth conveniently ignored by many who don kaffiyehs at college campuses, chanting slogans they barely understand. "Free Palestine!" has become a feel-good mantra stripped of nuance, oblivious to the deep ideological tensions between liberal Western values and Islamist fundamentalist doctrines that dominate many factions within Palestinian territories.

Arrigoni was rabidly anti-Western, anti-Israel, and obviously decried Israel’s blockade of Gaza. To him, the Palestinians had no agency for their plight: anything bad that happened to them was only the fault of the Israelis, and the Palestinians could do no wrong. Despite having the Arabic word “muqawama” - resistance - tattooed on his arm, he did at one point come out against Hamas (in Arabic, the “m” in Hamas stands for muqawama) criticizing their human rights record. No matter, however. Israel was always worse.

Well isn’t this nice?

Despite his credentials as a Palestinian ally, with resistance literally tattooed on his arm in Arabic, on April 14, 2011, Arrigoni was kidnapped by, you guessed it, Palestinians! The Brigade of the Gallant Companion of the Prophet Mohammed bin Muslima kidnapped and beat him, demanding the release of their leader Hisham Al-Saedni, the local leader of al-Qaeda (Gaza Branch). Hamas had imprisoned Al-Saedni, and now Arrigoni, the glorified-Italian-sympathizer, was kidnapped, ransomed, and threatened with death. Arrigoni’s involvement? He was accused of “spreading corruption” as a citizen of Italy, an “infidel state.”

Kidnapped by al-Qaeda in 2011, beaten and ransomed

Arrigoni was eventually murdered (hanged or strangled), and his body was later discovered by Hamas security forces. Ismail Haniyeh, then Hamas’ Prime Minister of Gaza, called Arrigoni’s mother in Italy to send his condolences. Haniyeh later stated that the killing “does not reflect the values, morals, or the religion of the Palestinian people. This is an unprecedented case that won’t be repeated.” We all know, of course, that Hamas is against strangling innocent Jewish babies named Bibas people.

And oh yes, you guessed it, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a prominent Palestinian politician, blamed Israel for killing Arrigoni, stating that Israel was trying to scare off international activists from coming to Gaza. No evidence was ever provided of Israel’s involvement. It rarely is.

Isn’t it ironic?

The irony is palpable. Progressive Western activists almost always overlook or actively dismiss the conservative, deeply regressive values of Palestinian militant and political factions. These factions aren’t merely opposed to an alleged Israel “occupation” though: they fundamentally oppose the secular democratic values Western activists claim to uphold. “Queers for Palestine!” they say. “Reproductive Rights are Palestinian Rights!” they chant. It's a marriage of convenience, unexamined, unsustainable, incomprehensible, idiotic.

I mean I just…don’t know.

Consider Arrigoni's killers: a Salafist extremist group who viewed Hamas - the Islamic Resistance Movement - as insufficiently strict in their adherence to Islamic law. Let that sink in. Even Hamas, a group designated as terrorists by many democracies worldwide (though not enough), was too moderate for Arrigoni’s murderers. Yet Western activists frequently portray groups like Hamas as resistance heroes, ignoring their stated rejection of virtually every liberal democratic value activists purportedly support - free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion (query Judaism), and on and on.

Don’t you think?

This short-sightedness isn't merely ironic: it's dangerously naïve. To many Western activists, the Palestinian cause serves as a handy stand-in for anti-imperialist rhetoric. Oppressor versus oppressed is the new name of the game. But embracing groups that despise fundamental liberties like freedom of speech, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and religious pluralism reveals a baffling ignorance and, let’s be real, a willful blindness, about exactly what they're supporting.

It almost all doesn’t matter though, because the enemy is the Jew. And everything can be excused when the Jewish State of Israel is the target.

Arrigoni’s tragedy should have prompted soul-searching within the movement, forcing a critical examination of what exactly "Free Palestine" means. Instead, activists doubled down, turning his death into yet another simplistic narrative of martyrdom, ignoring the grim complexities that led to his murder. In doing so, they perpetuate a dangerous myth that the only villain is Israel and the West, conveniently sidestepping the internal extremism and violence plaguing Palestinian society.

A little too ironic

The uncomfortable truth activists avoid is that the Palestinian struggle isn’t merely a straightforward battle against some fantastical version of what left-wing activists think Israel is: it’s also deeply entangled with competing visions for the future of the West, some radically at odds with basic human rights and freedoms. Pretending otherwise does nothing but disservice to those Palestinians genuinely fighting for liberty, democracy, and human dignity. It also places good-faith pro-Palestinian activists (if there are any left) in a morally untenable position, tacitly endorsing forces diametrically opposed to their own professed values.

When activists chant, march, and hashtag without actually grappling with the implications of their slogans, they become caricatures and ironic figures championing a cause they neither fully understand nor genuinely respect. Arrigoni's brutal end illustrates the peril of romanticizing movements without examining their ideological foundations. It reveals the utterly hollow performance of activism that doesn’t engage with uncomfortable truths. Wearing a keffiyeh and camping out in your campus quad does not make you wise.

And who would have thought? It figures.

I think about this as I see Greta’s dumb-smirk accepting a plastic-wrapped challah sandwich by a member of the IDF as she disembarks from her selfie yacht. I think about it this month, when Toronto’s Pride March will inevitably feature Palestinian flags and banners proclaiming solidarity with Hamas when those same activists would sooner be pushed off the tallest building in Gaza than be welcomed in good faith into Hamas-land. I think about this when activists appear on TV and say “Yes, I condemn the shooting outside the DC Jewish Museum,” or “I abhor the violence in Boulder, Colorado, BUT….” and then cringe as they rationalize violence for the sake of a Palestinian leadership who sees this activist class as useful pawns embedded in the West, wrapped around their Jihadist fingers.

So next time a well-intentioned student raises a sign proclaiming solidarity, they might pause to consider precisely whom they’re supporting. They might reflect on Arrigoni's fate and his sincere yet catastrophically misunderstood alliance with forces utterly opposed to the freedoms he allegedly cherished. Perhaps they might even question the catchy slogans that simplify complexities into digestible social media bites, obscuring harsh realities beneath appealing rhetoric. Perhaps they may pick up a book and learn something. Maybe they’ll escape their wilfull ignorance before they graduate.

But let’s not hold our breath. Arrigoni's tragic story will likely continue as a mere footnote in a cause whose followers often prefer moral simplicity over confronting ideological reality. After all, it’s easier and more comfortable to chant from afar than to examine up close.