Turkish schools hold Gaza-themed events
ISTANBUL
Students across Türkiye on Oct. 7 held awareness-raising events focused on Palestinians and Gaza, following a circular sent to the country's 81 provinces signed by Education Minister Yusuf Tekin.
Students carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags chanted pro-Palestinian slogans such as “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” and “We will not remain silent while children die,” according to media footage.
The ministry’s circular, titled “Palestine Awareness Activities,” emphasized that the Palestine issue, closely followed both regionally and globally, along with the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla agenda, imposes a shared responsibility on the educational community to represent the collective conscience strongly.
The events came amid the second anniversary of the war in the Palestinian territory.
In a high school in the capital Ankara, students displayed drawings in support of Palestinians in a dedicated hall, while some read letters addressed to children in the war-torn Gaza.
The program also included students reading poems and a screening of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly concerning Gaza.
The education minister himself attended events at a school in the eastern province of Erzurum.
In certain religious schools, passages from the Quran were recited and prayers offered.
Notably, in 2024, the Turkish Education Ministry dedicated the first lesson of the new academic year specifically to Gaza.
