fbpx

Israelis Are Using Photos of Greta Thunberg to Shame Each Other Over Plastic Utensils

[additional-authors]
November 7, 2019
A picture of Greta Thunberg in the Associated Press office in Jerusalem. (Allison Kaplan Sommer via Patty Nieberg/Twitter)

(JTA) — Israelis who are concerned about a warming climate have a new tactic: using cut-out photos of the prominent teen climate activist Greta Thunberg to shame their colleagues for using plasticware.

In workplaces across Tel Aviv, people are placing pictures of Thunberg, 16, in their kitchen areas next to disposable forks, knives and plates, according to Haaretz reporter Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Global recognition of Thunberg grew in September when she addressed the United Nations Climate Action Summit and spoke of the dangers of the climate crisis. She sailed to the U.S. from her native Sweden instead of flying, to limit her carbon emissions.

One of the photos, showing a visibly angry Thunberg, reads “HOW DARE YOU” — a reference to her U.N. speech, which went viral.

Tel Aviv recently passed a ban on single-use plastics in kindergartens and afternoon childcare facilities.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Three Dates to Dataland

I took three different dates, ages 6, 72 and 35, to see Dataland, the unusual digital art experience in downtown Los Angeles.

Hakol Shalom, All Is Shalom

This is the transcript of the speech Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson gave at the 2026 AJU Gala on May 19, 2026.

A Slice of Aussie Heaven for the Jewish Day of Love

A classic Australian dessert chocolate coconut slice features a rich, dense, fudgy chocolate base packed with dried coconut, finished with a thick cocoa frosting and generously dusted with even more coconut.

The Empty Plaza and the Eternal Bond

This Tisha b’Av, as we mourn over the Temple once more, it is an occasion to consider what resonance the remnants of the Temple structure hold for us today.

Rosner’s Domain | A Leftist (Not) by Choice?

Coalition supporters want to define Eisenkot as a leftist because leftist is a title most Israelis do not want their Prime Minister to hold. But this definition has inherent limitations.

Life, Love and Tisha b’Av

As if life needed one more complication, my anniversary with life, my birthday, usually falls somewhere inside the Three Weeks, that narrow corridor of Jewish time when celebration starts to feel suspicious.

Echoes of Oct. 7 in ‘The Odyssey’

The film reminded me that an ancient poet could write about massacres but also about moral courage, while terrorists who dream of killing Jews can only think of going right to the massacre.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.