During its sessions, the conference will address multiple topics concerning the genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023, in addition to intellectual discussions about the roots of Zionism and the role of civil society in confronting its policies.
Turkey’s representative to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Beheshti Ismail Sungur, said that civil society organizations sometimes constitute “the invisible hand of the state” due to their profound influence on people’s lives, noting that some Palestinian civil institutions have been active for more than half a century.
Sungur added: “When we talk about Zionism, we are not talking about an issue that began in 1948, but about a project with historical roots that extend back thousands of years,” stressing that Muslims are the group most exposed to killing and injustice in several regions such as Gaza, Sudan and Kashmir.
For his part, Adam Gillan, a member of the Human and Civilization Movement, explained that concepts are constructed within their cultural context, emphasizing the need to critically examine the concept of civil society when transferring it from the West to the Islamic world. He said, "When we import the Western concept of civil society without considering the differences in context, we repeat the mistakes we made with other concepts in the past."
Researcher Adam Shemshak stressed that the main goal of Zionism is "rapid expansion within its territories and beyond," calling for the development of civil work to become more institutionalized and continuous, with realistic long-term goals and plans.
The conference comes amid continued Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire declared since October 10, as Israel continues to violate it daily, resulting in hundreds of martyrs and wounded.
The war of annihilation in Gaza resulted in over 68,000 martyrs and 170,000 wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to widespread destruction of infrastructure. Israel continues its occupation of Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon, refusing to withdraw or allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the pre-1967 borders.
