Israel and activists accuse U.N. of slow response to accounts of Hamas militants raping women
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • last year • 62 commentsBy: Dan De Luce and Anna Schecter
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Israel accused the United Nations on Monday of moving too slowly to respond to accounts that Hamas carried out widespread sexual violence against women in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., said Hamas intentionally used rape and sexual violence as weapons of war in its assault on Israel.
"This was premeditated. This was planned. This was instructed," Erdan said at a U.N. panel organized by Israel to present what it said was evidence of the alleged crimes.
"Sadly, the very international bodies that are supposedly the defenders of all women showed that when it comes to Israelis, indifference is acceptable," Erdan said.
Israeli authorities say they have collected extensive testimonies of rape and sex crimes from witnesses and first responders who were present during or after the atrocities took place, including accounts of mutilation and torture. Israeli police also cite images allegedly taken by Hamas militants showing the state of their female victims.
"A survivor from the Nova rave party testified, 'Everything was an apocalypse of corpses, girls without any clothes on, without tops, without underwear, people cut in half, butchered, some were beheaded,'" Yael Reichert, a chief superintendent with the Israeli national police, said at the U.N. meeting. Reichert is taking part in the Israeli government's probe into sex crimes carried out in the Oct. 7 attack.
Shari Mendes, a member of an Israeli reserve unit preparing deceased female troops for burial, said there seemed to be "a systematic genital mutilation of a group of victims."
Hamas has denied its militants committed sexual crimes against women.
Sheryl Sandberg, the former chief operating officer of Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, also spoke on the panel. She said women's bodies that tell the stories of sexual violence should be believed over Hamas. "The world has to decide who to believe. Do we believe the Hamas spokesperson who said that rape is forbidden, therefore it couldn't have possibly happened on Oct. 7? Or do we believe the women? Whose bodies tell us how they spent the last minutes of their lives."
Two Israeli investigators who asked not to be named cautioned against the use of precise numbers of rape victims at this stage. They told NBC News that evidence continues to come in and that the investigation is likely to go on for months.
'Weaponized sexual violence'
About 150 activists, including those from Jewish women's groups, also marched in front of U.N. headquarters Monday, with speakers accusing the U.N. of failing to act over the abuse of Israeli women by Hamas.
Speaking at the rally, Cochav Elkayam Levy, of the Davis Institute for International Relations at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the "deafening silence" from international institutions over the reports of sexual violence raised the question of whether Israeli women were protected by international law.
"When the institutions that are globally mandated to protect women stay silent — not only international law loses meaning; humanity's shared values lose meaning," Levy said.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took part remotely at the U.N. panel, saying: "We must respond to weaponized sexual violence wherever it happens."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said at the panel that the U.N. needed to condemn the "barbaric acts" Hamas perpetrated against women.
"The United Nations must denounce Hamas as a terrorist organization that uses rape as a weapon of war. The United Nations must live up to its purpose of upholding the principles of international law, and the United Nations must condemn these evil crimes against humanity," she said.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week that "there are also numerous accounts of sexual violence during the attacks that must be vigorously investigated and prosecuted."
But Israeli officials say that Guterres should have spoken out weeks earlier and that U.N. Women, a U.N. organization focused on gender equality and the empowerment of women, has failed to live up to its mission.
U.N. Women said last week that it "unequivocally" condemned the Hamas attack and that it was "alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks."
"This is why we have called for all accounts of gender-based violence to be duly investigated and prosecuted, with the rights of the victim at the core," the group said.
The chair of a U.N. commission of inquiry investigating war crimes in the Israel-Hamas war has said it will focus on sexual violence by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks and will pass along any evidence to the International Criminal Court.
So far, Israel has not cooperated with the commission, saying it has an anti-Israel bias.
Asked about accusations that the U.N. has responded slowly to reports of rape, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said, "I don't have any specific comment, other than to say we would urge those reports to be fully and credibly investigated."
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Hamas has denied? IMO Satan is more credible than Hamas. Hasn't that already been proven?
Are you kidding? Hasn't it been established already that the United Nations is the most biased anti-Israel organization in the world? It makes Stormfront and the Nazis it lauds absolute amateurs in comparison.
Hamas has denied its militants committed sexual crimes against women.
That reminds me of a famous quote from the late Yasir Arafat:
I am ready to kill for the sake of my cause; wouldn't I lie for it?
Way back in my bouncer days damn near killed a man who was raping a woman.
The asshole had been aggressive against several women all night. Should have kicked him out earlier.
He was on my radar and I blamed myself for almost being too late to save her.
After I trashed him unconscious, made sure to kick him in the nuts a few times.
The lady ran off and never pressed charges.
He's still out there raping women as far as I know.
All rapists deserve emasculation.
Any culture that believes in rape as a political statement deserves genocide.
That would include ISIS and Hamas-- at the very least.
And most of the population of many Arab countries (at least when the victims are "Non-berlievers")
It would probably include every military in the world that has ever taken military action against a civilian population. US and its allies included. With the possible exception of the Nazis, I know of no case where it was sanctioned by the military's government, it is more of a personal action, and in those cases I agree with cjcold, all rapists deserve emasculation. Without general anesthesia, make them watch it getting cut off.
You are trying to cur Hamas some slack. Hamas planned on doing it.
Evidence?
The first category that is ongoing today include Russians in Ukraine, organized gangs in Haiti and Ethiopian forces in Tigray. Two months ago it was practised be Hamas.
Still having trouble reading English? I never denied that fact, all I said was that it was not sanctioned by the government.
Again, evidence???
Turning a blinds eye, entirely probable, but not what I was talking about, so off topic.
Bingo, that's them.
Possibly, but again, where is the evidence it was sanctioned? Even if you find something authorizing soldiers to rape civilians, that merely makes Russia an exception not part of the norm.
Again, sanctioned by the Haiti and/or Ethiopian governments? Where's the evidence?
Again, claims with no evidence to back it up.
Open your eyes:
Iraq under Saddam.
2 . Argentina's "Dirty War":
The term "Dirty War" was used by the military junta, which claimed that a war, albeit with "different" methods (including the large-scale application of torture and rape ), was necessary to maintain social order and eradicate political subversives.
It also describes torture methods used to intimidate and extract information, including electric shocks, prolonged immersion in water, cigarette burns , sexual abuse , rape , removal of teeth and fingernails, castration, and burning with boiling water, oil and acid. [98]
From the moment of their abduction, the victims lost all rights. Deprived of all communication with the outside world, held in unknown places, subjected to barbaric torture, kept ignorant of their immediate or ultimate fate, they risked being either thrown into a river or the sea, weighted down with blocks of cement, or burned to ashes. They were not mere objects, however, and still possessed all the human attributes: they could feel pain, could remember a mother, child or spouse, could feel infinite shame at being raped in public. [94]
I can think of many more examples. bit it would be time consuming to google and post them all.
Including the American military. Did you ever watch the movie Casualties of War? It's a true story.
When I read those reports you linked to, it made me despise the UN even more than before because of their not blasting Hamas for the depraved sexual savagery they committed, but sticking their middle finger up to Israel by focusing on the numbers of deaths in Gaza, accentuating the numbers of deaths and injuries of women and children, which are caused mainly by Hamas using civilians as human shields and their hiding among the civilians.
They're open.
You've issued a lot of claims but not backed them up. All your links show is that sexual violence has occurred and they are claiming it was sanctioned. Nobody is claiming it didn't occur, but nobody is putting forth any actual evidence that it was sanctioned by the government.
At best you've shown them turning a blind eye towards it and not dealing with it, but that's not what I am talking about and you keep trying to deflect to that.
I'm not familiar enough with it, so will take your word for it.
Perhaps the UN thought these woman were bad woman and asked for it. Perhaps they think it is just a twisted lie told by Zionists. Or perhaps they are just indifferent to what happed to these woman and girls.
A few years ago the world was appalled and rightfully so at reports of Islamic State fighters raping and enslaving Yazidi women, the same toward stories from women in occupied Ukraine.
But in this case progressives don’t always #BelieveWomen. All they are saying is Give Peace a Chance.
Obviously some of these "feminists" don't care about rape when the victim is Jewish. More and more people are staring to become aware of this.
Recently I came across this hashtag on IGM:
#metoounlessurajew
I've said before and say again I wish that every protester or demonstrator who has and does support Hamas would be rounded up and shipped to Gaza to be at the mercy of those inhuman Hamas savages that are their heroes.
What, exactly, do you think the UN should do about this?
The texts and teaching aids used in UNRWA schools funded by US and EU to indoctrinate Palestinian children to antisemitism, hate and violence, need updating. Last year, an UNRWA-created Arabic reading comprehension exercise for 9th graders celebrated a Palestinian firebombing attack on a Jewish bus as a “barbecue party.” This year than can replace it with the rave party attack and celebrate the murder of 364, capture of 36 and the rape and mutilation as a sacred mission.
So... Banning books in schools to stop rape? Ok.
How did you get there?
Sounds like banning books to me.
Lol.
It's not US schools being talked about here. The filthy Palestinians teach their kids to hate the Jews from birth onwards. Do you find this acceptable?
The roots of Hamas' terror attack can be found in Gaza’s schools – The Forward
Muslim children at Lebanese Beddawi Refugee Camp instructed to hate Jews, wish for martydom, dream of eradicating Israel | Human Events | humanevents.com
The UN teaches Palestinian children to murder Jews (msn.com)
I'm not talking about American schools and I'm not being dragged into an off topic rabbit hole.
What, exactly, do you think the UN should do about the raping of these women mentioned in the article? U.N. Women said last week that it "unequivocally" condemned the Hamas attack and that it was "alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks." Perhaps the UN should bomb the dickens out of Gaza. Oh wait, that's already happening.
Last week, huh?
Wow, way to take a stand some 7-8 weeks later!!
Way to go UN!!
Neither was I nor was Greg. Why do you think that not teaching hate, anti-Semitism and violence to Palestinian kids isn't a start point?
Prosecuting war crimes would be a good start. But who are they going to prosecute?
Does that include the war crimes committed by Hamas?
I agree entirely with Drinker of the Wry's comment about correcting what is in the UN-supplied books that are being used. I don't think that correcting something that is wrong in a book to make it right is "book banning", but your comment makes me feel that you have no concern about the teaching of Jew-hatred.
Do you actually not know the difference between "Banning books" and "updating books"?
Perhaps the UN should bomb the dickens out of Gaza. Oh wait, that's already happening.
Do actually believe that? (If you do believe that, please post a link (from a reliable source. ).
TIA
If that's how you see it, then ban the fucking books, there that wasn't so hard!
Whoopee! They waited TWO FREAKING MONTHS before condemning RAPE, MUTILATION, and TORTURE of Israeli men, women, and children!!!!!!
That doesn't exonerate them in my book.
Whatever the UN 'does' about it, it will be essentially meaningless.
I haven't taken a side on this war. I'm just wondering what it is the UN can, or should do about it.
Haven't taken a side?
Are you internally debating on whether or not to support terrorism?
The UN is a huge conglomeration of useless, ineffective panderers.
Exactly, quite the moral quandary, this one.
I guess that comment explains indifference to the inaction of the UN and calling removing Jew-hatred from books to be book-banning.
I took a side in this war three quarters of a century ago and it hasn't changed since. This war started back then.
So you know what the terrorists did when they invaded? (Hint: It was well beyond rape).
Exactly, quite the moral quandary, this one.
Hehehe
That's a very generously kind way to say that the UN is scum.
Just watched the movie Fight Club. Folk are crazy.
Yes, folk be crazy indeed!
A quote from some guy (rumor has it he was actually a Jew! )
I know of two things that are infinite, the Universe and human stupidity and I'm not entirely sure about the former
FWIW, It was Albert Einstein
Who's life was saved by Muslims. He escaped Europe by going to Albania and gettting to the US.
Albania saved a number of Jews during WWII.
IMO, hamas has probably run out of hostages to trade that weren't abused. the deaths of those hostages are easier to explain away than the media optics of the remaining freed hostages sharing their capture and captive experiences.
And then there are those women who were mass raped, then shot in the head.
In one case after the rapes in the case of one victim they cut a breast off and was tossinf it back and forth...
Some of these gruesome details are known because of testimony from eyewitnesses...but in addition the Hamas terrorists had head mounted cameras that recorded their barbaric acts!
Anyone surprised at the lack of a UN response?
Not really.
Not me.
China and Russia have veto power. Fuck the UN!
Not I.
There's a reason why Hamas hasn't released many female hostages, who would share how they have been abused.
State Dept. Reveals Horrific Reason Female Hostages Haven't Been Released by Hamas (townhall.com)
Obviously some folks believe
Me too
Unless you are a Jew
And a different example of "politically correct' hypocrisy"-- the groups that call themselves "Queers for Palestine".
Maybe they should go over to Gaza and have a Queers for Palestine meeting with hamas.
I imagine there would be some people who would donate to giving travel tickets to Gaza for the "Queers for Palestine". (And it would be a real bargain-- because they could save $ by not having to pay for a return trip
)