The Flotilla and the Theatre of Virtue
By: Sónia Almeida In the cacophony surrounding the Middle East, moral clarity has become the rarest of virtues. The war between Israel and Hamas, already steeped in decades of suffering, has turned into a global mirror - reflecting less about the conflict itself than about those who claim to take a stand. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the latest “flotilla to Gaza.” Presented to the world as a humanitarian mission, it was, in truth, a carefully staged performance. No significant humanitarian aid was found aboard the vessels - no food, no medicine, no supplies for those they claimed to defend. What remained, then, was not an act of mercy, but a performance of it: a choreography of outrage designed for visibility rather than relief. The flotilla was never about feeding the hungry; it was about feeding a narrative. In an age where moral conviction is measured by public display, visibility itself has become a form of virtue. The voyage served as an arena where m...