KADEM Youth and World Champion Athletes Stand with Gaza:
‘Do not give up! We will celebrate joyful Eids with our young Palestinian brothers and sisters.’
KADEM Youth and world champion athletes gathered for Gaza at Sultanahmet Square as part of the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. At the event, supported by national athletes Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz, Zeynep Makbule Akyüz, Mehmet Demirci, and Ravzanur Şahin, a call was made to continue solidarity and boycott with the Palestinian people.
The youth board of the Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM), KADEM Youth, organized a ‘Youth Gathering Against Genocide’ in Gaza. University members and volunteers of KADEM Youth, along with KADEM’s scholarship recipients from Gaza, gathered at Sultanahmet Square and set up a day-long tent camp as part of the ongoing actions at universities around the world.
Speaking to the press at the event, KADEM Yourth President Hande Bilirgen stated that they celebrate the May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day with various activities every year. However, this year they gathered to express the pain of the children, youth, and innocent civilians killed in Gaza. KADEM Youth President Bilirgen said, ‘As today’s youth and the adults of the future, we are ashamed on behalf of all humanity,’ ‘We are aware that millions of young people around the world share the same feelings.’
Bilirgen continued, “From America to Japan, young people at thousands of universities are protesting Israel’s inhumane massacres by setting up tent camps. We wanted to bring this honorable resistance from university campuses to the squares on the occasion of May 19. With this tent camp we have set up, we are sending a message to Israel and its supporters: Your advanced weapons, missiles, and bombs may kill people, but they cannot kill human dignity! Your Iron Dome may protect you from missiles, but it cannot prevent you from being recorded in history as baby killers. We, the youth, will shout out this Zionist brutality on every platform we find ourselves on and will stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters.”
World Kung Fu Champion Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz, who has won six medals and made Türkiye proud, four-time Wushu World Champion Zeynep Makbule Akyüz, European Wushu Champion Mehmet Demirci, and Kung Fu Balkan Champion Ravzanur Şahin were also among those who supported the event.
Attending the ‘Youth Gathering Against Genocide’, Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz said: “We do not even give one in a million of the struggle those children there give. We do not shield ourselves with our chests against missiles and tanks. We express our struggle, reaction, and voice with our property, career, and achievements.”
Beginning her words with “Palestine is not a matter of language, religion, or race,” Zeynep Makbule Akyüz expressed the following: “Palestine is a matter of humanity. We, as young people and athletes, will not remain silent until there is ‘free Palestine from the river to the sea.’ We are always with Palestine.”
At the Youth Gathering Against Genocide, where university students from Gaza in Türkiye and many young people from various NGOs participated, KADEM Youth President Hande Bilirgen reiterated messages of boycott and solidarity. Bilirgen stated: “We believe that history will change with the resistance of us, the youth. We also address our brothers and sisters who are living face to face with death in Gaza: Do not give up! We believe that the oppressors will receive the punishment they deserve, and we will celebrate holidays like festivals with our Palestinian young brothers and sisters. We invite everyone, persistently, to boycott and stand by the Palestinian people. For a free Palestine from the river to the sea…”
The vigil for Palestine at the tent camp, which included activities like painting and making watermelon bracelets, continued throughout the day with the participation of tourists and young people.
World Kung Fu Champion Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz, who has won six medals and made Türkiye proud, four-time Wushu World Champion Zeynep Makbule Akyüz, European Wushu Champion Mehmet Demirci, and Kung Fu Balkan Champion Ravzanur Şahin were also among those who supported the event.
Attending the ‘Youth Gathering Against Genocide’, Necmettin Erbakan Akyüz said: “We do not even give one in a million of the struggle those children there give. We do not shield ourselves with our chests against missiles and tanks. We express our struggle, reaction, and voice with our property, career, and achievements.”
Beginning her words with “Palestine is not a matter of language, religion, or race,” Zeynep Makbule Akyüz expressed the following: “Palestine is a matter of humanity. We, as young people and athletes, will not remain silent until there is ‘free Palestine from the river to the sea.’ We are always with Palestine.”
At the Youth Gathering Against Genocide, where university students from Gaza in Türkiye and many young people from various NGOs participated, KADEM Youth President Hande Bilirgen reiterated messages of boycott and solidarity. Bilirgen stated: “We believe that history will change with the resistance of us, the youth. We also address our brothers and sisters who are living face to face with death in Gaza: Do not give up! We believe that the oppressors will receive the punishment they deserve, and we will celebrate holidays like festivals with our Palestinian young brothers and sisters. We invite everyone, persistently, to boycott and stand by the Palestinian people. For a free Palestine from the river to the sea…”
The vigil for Palestine at the tent camp, which included activities like painting and making watermelon bracelets, continued throughout the day with the participation of tourists and young people.
