On January 11, the Korean Council, as a member of the Urgent Action by South Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine, participated in the 32nd Urgent Action by Korean Civil Society Condemning Israel's Genocide in Gaza. The genocide of Israel's Netanyahu government and its occupying forces is paralleled by the dichotomous hate politics of Yoon Suk-Yeol's attempted martial law in South Korea. Hate politics and discriminatory politics, which turn people with different lives into enemies to be eliminated rather than people to be talked to and lived with, eventually mobilized violence, leading to genocide and civil war.
Israel's occupation and genocide of Palestinians is not just a matter of two countries and a region; it was possible by the complicity of numerous countries that have not only neglected the injustice but have helped grave human rights violations.
South Korea is a country that experienced colonization during the Japanese occupation. However, the government is still exporting weapons to countries that engage in genocide and false propaganda. If we remember history, the violence must stop now.
When the state uses violence, vulnerable minorities - women, people with disabilities, LGBTQAI+, and others are often the first to be pushed out of their lives or become tools of power. The existence of the Japanese "comfort women" reminds us of what can happen to minorities during war and genocide. By the testimonies and wills of the victim-survivors, we should reflect on the past, and we must not allow violence to repeat anywhere in the world.
The Korean Council took to the streets to end the genocide of Israel's Netanyahu government and its occupying forces and Yoon Suk-Yeol's hate politics. We will stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and Koreans to end the politics of pushing others down as "wrong" and build a life of coexistence with the "other."
"From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free"
On January 11, the Korean Council, as a member of the Urgent Action by South Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine, participated in the 32nd Urgent Action by Korean Civil Society Condemning Israel's Genocide in Gaza. The genocide of Israel's Netanyahu government and its occupying forces is paralleled by the dichotomous hate politics of Yoon Suk-Yeol's attempted martial law in South Korea. Hate politics and discriminatory politics, which turn people with different lives into enemies to be eliminated rather than people to be talked to and lived with, eventually mobilized violence, leading to genocide and civil war.
Israel's occupation and genocide of Palestinians is not just a matter of two countries and a region; it was possible by the complicity of numerous countries that have not only neglected the injustice but have helped grave human rights violations.
South Korea is a country that experienced colonization during the Japanese occupation. However, the government is still exporting weapons to countries that engage in genocide and false propaganda. If we remember history, the violence must stop now.
When the state uses violence, vulnerable minorities - women, people with disabilities, LGBTQAI+, and others are often the first to be pushed out of their lives or become tools of power. The existence of the Japanese "comfort women" reminds us of what can happen to minorities during war and genocide. By the testimonies and wills of the victim-survivors, we should reflect on the past, and we must not allow violence to repeat anywhere in the world.
The Korean Council took to the streets to end the genocide of Israel's Netanyahu government and its occupying forces and Yoon Suk-Yeol's hate politics. We will stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and Koreans to end the politics of pushing others down as "wrong" and build a life of coexistence with the "other."
"From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free"