When does political protest seem to become an end in itself?

Climate firebrand Greta Thunberg, 21, seems to raise that question when looking at photos of her arrest last month outside the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden.

Wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh scarf and shouting, “Shame on you,” in a show of solidarity with the pro-Palestinian cause, the famous climate warrior was protesting the participation of Israeli singer Eden Golan. I was not familiar with Ms. Golan or her actual position on the war that has ravaged Gaza, but I immediately felt sympathy for her, which was hardly what the protesters seemed to have in mind.

What does Thunberg have to do with the war in Gaza? She certainly has the right to object to any cause she chooses. But, after decades of witnessing similar displays of organized outrage around causes of the moment, I felt drawn to conclude that what mattered most to these protesters was the protest itself.

“Welcome to the Omnicause,” wrote Andy Kessler, a Wall Street Journal opinion columnist, borrowing a term that has gone viral on X, formerly Twitter. “If you protest one........

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