Activism is Just for Clout: The Madleen and Gaslighting

Apparently, The Israeli Foreign Ministry is reducing the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's Madleen to nothing more than a publicity stunt.

I'm not delving into the whole interception and kidnapping for this. There are plenty of articles discussing it. I'll link some of them at the end if you need to be caught up.

But we already know that yes, Thunberg being a part of the Madleen's voyage was likely intended to garner more media attention. If you're just now hearing about the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, they are not something new. They were formed in 2010 in order to continue the work of the Free Gaza Movement which had been sending ships of humanitarian aide since 2008.

Around the first five missions, all in 2008, had been successful. But then December of 2008, Israel began interfering with these missions. Ten missions, including the Madleen, have been unsuccessful due to being attacked, intercepted, or threatened with attack. The attack on the Mavi Marmara in 2010 is most notable for the injury and even death of numerous activists.

That is why it is imperative for the Madleen to be given so much attention. All the attention is likely why the crew members are still alive (as far as we know). It also helped more people become aware of the fact that Israel is actively preventing any humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians. I personally didn't know about all these missions myself.

(There is a convoy moving by land headed towards Gaza to break the siege. You can follow the convoy at: Al Soumoud Convoy)

This is why recording and bringing attention to something, even if it turns out unsuccessful is important. It can help demonstrate the issue at hand and potentially protect the individuals involved.

As somebody who has myself been and knows multiple people who have been kidnapped by authorities, I understand the effectiveness and comfort in having as many people as possible know what you were doing and that you have been stolen.

Because whether it is local law enforcement or foreign entities, if they think that nobody knows or nobody cares enough to put on pressure, they will be more likely do what they want. They'll lock you up and throw away the key, they'll torture you, or they'll just straight up murder you. Having people on the outside fighting for you increases your chances of safety and freedom. In the least, it brings to light the brutality.

Personally, it had somewhat distressed me to read that the Israeli Foreign Ministry is just dismissing these efforts as some show for publicity. They're in essence just laughing the activists off like they're just silly and have too much time on their hands. Because it brings me back to all the gaslighting that I have faced myself.

I had grown up dealing with a good bit of gaslighting from my own parents (to be fair, my mother was constantly being gaslit herself by my father, but that doesn't make her free of fault). And in my adult years, I still face that gaslighting from law enforcement. Being unsheltered without even a vehicle, many travelers are particularly vulnerable. Getting arrested can cause us potentially more harm than someone who does have a house. Not to mention, being forced to do anything or go anywhere under the threat of violence is awful.

We're constantly at the mercy of law enforcement. Yet, when we're recording them in an attempt to avoid being brutalized, cops love pointing at their body cams and saying "Yeah, we're recording too." As though it's excessive and silly for us to pull out our phones for every interaction. As though they don't hold the body cam footage for ransom. They also like to tell us we watch too much TikTok (I've never even downloaded the app).
They also like to kind of roll their eyes when we express concern over how they'll treat us.
And if you dare try to stand up for your Constitutional rights, they label you a "sovereign citizen".
To be fair, trying to do things the legal and Constitutional way is probably just about as performative and pointless as the sovereign citizen thing. Because law enforcement and governments don't do things the legal and Constitutional way. But they really don't like it when you yourself don't do things the civil and legal way (as we can see now with the National Guard being deployed for protestors chasing out ICE in LA).

But it is so distressing to be in fear of yours or someone else's safety and freedom while these people in power just kind of laugh and poke fun at you. And it gives you this feeling of isolation because you feel as though other people are going to probably treat the situation with the same dismissive attitude. Because this gaslighting is so deeply ingrained in our society that any protest or movement is viewed as being excessive and for the sake of attention.

I absolutely agree and acknowledge that there are people who are all talk and no action. Or they make it appear as though they're taking action but in reality it's for internet clout. I've mentioned this in the weekend warrior video I'd made that there are people who like to pretend to be unsheltered and on the streets. They like to talk about Anarchist values, yet they don't put any of those values into action.

But those individuals and instances should never overshadow the cause or the values themselves. Yet, at times, that's exactly what they do, and that's the whole point.

Framing activism as mere publicity stunts is intended to make the cause appear silly and pointless. It is meant to lull people into a false sense of security and to invalidate any oppositional movements.

That is why federal agencies in the States have and continue to legitimately infiltrate organizations and encourage disorder such as riots at protests. It is a method to remove any credibility or respect.

We can see this on a smaller scale with gaslighting in abusive relationships. If you've been through that yourself, you probably understand how easy it is for such reactions and dismissals to make you question your reality, your motives, the cause, and just everything. Especially if you struggle with being a people pleaser like I do, it can be really tempting to allow their gaslighting to convince you that they're right and you should just stay quiet and do as you're told.

For the people struggling with gaslighting, I want you to know that you are not crazy. And if you're a little uncertain about the Israeli Palestinian conflict, that's perfectly understandable. I personally don't know much about the ancient history of the Jews or Palestinians or the land there. I'm still studying. But I do know that Israel's occupation is causing way too much harm. Kidnapping non-violent and unarmed activists from international waters and denying aid to be brought to an entirely different country and territory is against International Law. But Israel does not care, and clearly, neither do many other nations.

But the whole intention of this is to help people who are struggling with gaslighting recognize that it is a legitimate tactic. You might not even realize that you are being gaslit. Because you might feel as though you are simply being misunderstood. You might even try to argue that you are different from those excessively absurd attention seekers. But it is imperative to understand that authorities such as law enforcement and political leaders are not your friend. They may feign kindness towards you especially when the cameras are rolling (like those sandwiches and bottles of water), but when it comes down to it, they generally don't care about you or any of us in the least. They care about their reputations and money. You cannot reason with them. You certainly cannot convince them that you are different or better than the "actual" criminals. All authorities want you to do, is whatever they want they want you to do.


 
 

WORKS CITED
 

• Aladam, M. (2025, June 9). Israeli forces raid Gaza-bound madleen aid flotilla, detain activists. Middle East Eye. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-bound-flotilla-israeli-seizes-madleen-ship-detains-activist

• Jolly, B. (2025, June 9). Greta Thunberg Boat Branded “a selfie yacht” as Israel hits back at activists. Daily Mirror. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/greta-thunberg-madleen-boat-branded-35358390

• Israel Foreign Ministry - X. X. (2025, June 8). https://x.com/IsraelMFA/status/1931885257604645074

• Previous FFC missions. Freedom Flotilla. (n.d.). https://freedomflotilla.org/previous-ffc-missions/

• The New Arab. (2025, June 8). Maghreb volunteers launch Gaza siege land convoy from Tunisia. The New Arab. https://www.newarab.com/news/maghreb-volunteers-launch-gaza-siege-land-convoy-tunisia