This week I went to bear witness, along with two Jewish Federation colleagues and three of our most committed lay leaders, to the barbaric acts of sexual violence committed by Hamas, at a special hearing at the United Nations. This session, with all its searing testimony, gave voice to the countless numbers of Israeli women who were brutally raped, murdered, and mutilated on October 7, and exposed the silence and cruel indifference of international women’s organizations. If you’d like to watch the hearing, see the recording here.
To be clear, this hearing was not called by the United Nations. It was not called by Human Rights Watch, UN Women, Women Without Borders, or any one of the dozens of women’s rights groups that came up in a simple Google search.
No independent, bipartisan or #MeToo organization saw fit to explore the shocking and well-documented claims of sexual violence carried out by Hamas against Israeli women on October 7. It fell on Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Sheryl Sandberg, and several Jewish organizations to bring these reports to a global audience and a packed hearing room of 700 mostly Jewish women and men from New Jersey and New York.
The most wrenching testimony we heard during the 90-minute hearing came from Israeli first responders and investigators: the ZAKA (Israel voluntary community emergency response teams) representative, the army reservist who prepares female corpses for identification and burial, and the chief superintendent of the Israeli national police. Their testimonies of women who were gang-raped, tortured, and murdered; of bodies so desecrated they couldn’t be identified as male or female; of the mutilated genitalia and faces that were erased, are horrifying and heart-wrenching.
For the families of the victims and those who survived, the trauma is compounded by the silence of the international community and the shamefully weak response by UN Women’s Executive Director Sima Bahous who called the reports “alarming” just last Friday, two months after the atrocities were committed.
Their silence, and the failure of progressive members of Congress and so-called women’s rights advocates – like Rep. Pramila Jayapal – to forcefully condemn Hamas for the depravity without also criticizing Israel’s rightful response is morally reprehensible.
Which is why this week’s hearing was so important.
The UN has long been a place of twisted morality and double standards applied to only one nation on earth – the Jewish nation.
The six of us from Greater MetroWest were confronted with this reality on our way out of the building when we paused to look at two separate exhibits, one temporary and one permanent, on the walls of the first and third floors of the UN building.
The exhibits are paeans to the Palestinian cause and what allegedly existed in the land between the river and the sea before the “Naqba” of 1948, what Palestinians call the catastrophe of their “displacement” and “colonization.”
On these walls there was no pretense of balance or nuance. No presentation of Israel’s narrative or the Jewish people’s story. It was history as presented by only one side, for whom the other side is oppressor, occupier, colonizer. Summed up in one misleading plaque, devoid of any explanation or historical context, which reads, simply:
The State of Israel was established in 1948. The Arab State – Palestine – did not come into being.
In the face of the most unspeakable crimes of violence committed against Israeli women, the UN has again revealed its grotesque bias against Jews and the Jewish state.
Our Jewish Federation is deeply committed to the safety and security of our beloved Jewish homeland and are actively supporting the families of the victims and the survivors. Our Jewish Women’s Foundation will provide an immediate grant of $9,000 to the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. Through our emergency fund we will provide ongoing and critical humanitarian relief.
And with our voices, we will speak out against the atrocities we heard at the UN, demand justice from the international community, and continue to support Israel and its defense forces to make sure that the terrorist perpetrators of these unspeakable crimes against women, and the mortal threat they continue to pose against all Israelis, are eliminated.
If you’d like to take action, the following information is provided by our colleagues at Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
As a global community, we need to demand that UN Women:
- Urgently acknowledge these atrocities which are a blatant violation of international law
- Issue a clear-cut condemnation of the Hamas gender-based war crimes
- Urgently act to protect the special humanitarian rights of women and children
- Do everything in their power to expose and recognize these atrocious and horrific acts of violence against women and girls and to bring the release of all the hostages immediately.
If you’d like to help, take a moment to copy and paste one of the three pre-written email messages below and send them to the following email addresses:
- Sima Bahous, the Executive Director of UN Women and Under-Secretary-General of the UN – Emails: executiveoffice@unwomen.org; sima.bahous@unwomen.org
- UN Women Liaison Office in Geneva – Email: unwomen.geneva@unwomen.org
- UN Women Liaison Office in Washington, D.C. – Email: washingtondclo@unwomen.org
- UN Women Liaison Office in Brussels – Email: unwomen.brussels@unwomen.org
For all the Israeli women impacted by the tragedies of October 7 let’s come together and flood their inboxes with messages.
Version 1: Appeal for Immediate Action Against Gender-Based Violence by Hamas
Dear UN Women,
I am reaching out to draw your attention to the distressing situation following the October 7th attack by Hamas, which has resulted in a horrific massacre and numerous atrocities, including rape, torture, kidnap and murder, against Israeli women and girls. It is imperative that UN Women takes a firm stand against these egregious violations of human rights.
I urge UN Women to acknowledge these atrocities which are a blatant violation of international law, to issue a clear-cut condemnation of the Hamas gender-based war crimes, to urgently act to protect the special humanitarian rights of women and children, and to do everything in your power to expose and recognize these atrocious and horrific acts of violence against Israeli women and girls and to bring the release of all the hostages immediately.
Your swift condemnation and intervention are vital in addressing the plight of these women and ensuring justice prevails.
Thank you for your urgent consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
[Add Your Name]
Version 2: Urgent: Condemnation of Recent Atrocities on Israeli Women by Hamas
Subject: Urgent: Condemnation of Recent Atrocities on Israeli Women by Hamas
Dear UN Women,
I am writing to bring to your attention the grave situation involving the recent massacre and atrocities inflicted upon Israeli women and girls during the October 7th attack by Hamas. The targeted violence, against women is a blatant violation of human rights, and I think it is imperative that UN Women take a strong stance against such heinous acts, including rape, torture, kidnap and murder, committed by Hamas.
I urge UN Women to acknowledge these atrocities which are a blatant violation of international law, to issue a clear-cut condemnation of the Hamas gender-based war crimes, to urgently act to protect the special humanitarian rights of women and children, and to do everything in your power to expose and recognize these atrocious and horrific acts of violence against Israeli women and girls and to bring the release of all the hostages immediately.
Your support in addressing and condemning these atrocities will play a crucial role in fostering global awareness and promoting justice.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[Add Your Name]
Version 3: Request for UN Women’s Intervention in Light of Hamas Atrocities Against Israeli Women
Subject: Request for UN Women’s Intervention in Light of Hamas Atrocities Against Israeli Women
Dear UN Women,
I want to bring to your attention the deeply troubling events stemming from the October 7th attack by Hamas, resulting in a brutal massacre and unspeakable atrocities against Israeli women and girls. It is crucial that UN Women, as a champion for women’s rights, strongly condemns these acts of rape, torture, kidnap and murder, and takes decisive steps to address the immediate needs of the affected women.
I urge UN Women to acknowledge these atrocities which are a blatant violation of international law, to issue a clear-cut condemnation of the Hamas gender-based war crimes, to urgently act to protect the special humanitarian rights of women and children, and to do everything in your power to expose and recognize these atrocious and horrific acts of violence against Israeli women and girls and to bring the release of all the hostages immediately.
Your intervention will serve as a beacon of hope and justice in the face of such egregious human rights violations.
Thank you for your prompt attention and action on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
[Add Your Name]