Ex-Bernie Sanders aide slammed for saying accounts of Israeli women raped by Hamas are ‘Zionist’ propaganda

Social media users and X fact-checkers hit back against former Bernie Sanders campaign press secretary and current The Hill TV host Briahna Joy Gray this week after sharing multiple posts denying the validity of accounts of Israeli women raped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.

X accounts ripped Gray, accusing her of "dehumanizing" the Jewish people and stooping low to "disrespect" Jewish rape victims.

Gray’s controversial claims also earned her multiple "Community Notes" fact-checks, reminding her of the existence of multiple corroborated reports of Hamas terrorists raping Israeli women during October terrorist attack in Israel. 

ISRAEL RESUMES BOMBARDMENT OF GAZA AFTER CEASE-FIRE WITH HAMAS ENDS

A woman holds a flag of Israel and a portrait of 13-year-old Alma, held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, during a protest asking for the release of Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv on November 25, 2023.  (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Several of the anchor's controversial statements on the subject came on Monday, when she first posted about a U.S. State Department spokesperson suggesting to the press that Hamas has sexually abused Israeli women in its captivity. 

The spokesperson's statement that Hamas is reluctant to release more women hostages because it would reveal the nature of their abuse at the terror group’s hands prompted reporters at the conference to fire back, saying the U.S. government has provided no evidence that is the case.

On X, Gray commented on the clip, writing, "Providing no evidence, @StateDeptSpox advances theory that unreleased female Israeli hostages are rape victims who Hamas withheld bc they don't want them to speak publicly about their treatment. What we *know* so far is that Israeli hostages that have been allowed to speak to the press affirmed humane treatment, while Palestinian hostages have attested to beatings & sexual assault."

Gray’s post received a Community Notes fact-check, linking multiple news outets that have reported "Significant evidence of Hamas raping women has been provided in the form of video and witness accounts. As is typical, video of the rapes has not been released publicly out of respect for the victims." 

It added, "Additionally, released hostages have testified as to their abuse."

In a follow-up to that post, Gray shared a CNN clip of former State Department member Josh Paul describing what he called "credible" claims of a Palestinian boy being raped in an Israeli prison.

Though she had claimed Israel’s rape allegations against Hamas were unverifiable, she pushed the veracity of Israelis raping Palestinians, commenting, "Israel’s focus on women hostages is interesting since members of the IDF have not limited their sexual violations to females or adults."

In a subsequent post, The Hill reporter shared a video of Newsweek Opinion Editor Ungar-Sargon blasting Democratic Party lawmakers like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., for once pushing the notion of "Believe all women" when it came to them giving accounts of sexual assault, but being hesitant to believe rape claims from Israeli women in the Israel-Hamas war.

Gray used the point to claim that people should be skeptical about Israeli women claiming to be rape victims of Hamas. She wrote, "’Believe all women’ was always an absurd overreach: woman should be heard, claims should be investigated, but evidence is required. The same is true of the allegations out of Israel."

She added, "But also, this isn’t a ‘believe women’ scenario bc no female victims have offered testimony."

A Community Notes fact-check came for this post as well, sharing reports of Hamas raping Israeli women from CNN, The Boston Globe, BBC, and an ABC Chicago affiliate. The note stated, "There are plenty of reports, including witness testimony, showing that Hamas terrorists raped Israeli women."

PENTAGON CONFIRMS 74TH ATTACK ON US TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST SINCE OCT. 17

Democratic "Sqaud" member Rep. Pramila Jayapal clashed with CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday over a lack of condemnation of Hamas' use of sexual violence during their attacks on Israeli women.  (Screenshot/CNN/StateOfTheUnion)

Still, the journalist followed that post up with images of news reports describing the rape accounts and accused them of being Zionist propaganda. She posted, "Zionists are asking that we believe the uncorroborated eyewitness account of *men* who describe alleged rape victims in odd, fetishistic terms. Shame on Israel for not seriously investigating claims of rape and collecting rape kits."

Fox News Digital reached out to Governor Pritzker’s office for comment. This story will be updated with any response. 

Gray’s posts inspired a deluge of criticism on the platform.

The Dispatch Editor-In-Chief Jonah Goldberg shamed Gray’s previous employers for being associated with someone with her views. He posted, "Tells you something about the Sanders campaign and The Intercept that this person had significant positions at both."

Feminist author Jill Filipovic slammed Gray’s point that there are no victims to testify to the rapes, stating, "Yes it is generally the case that if you kill your victims, they can't testify against you."

Political commentator Evan Siegfried fact-checked Gray himself, writing, "1) The female victims you say haven’t offered testimony were either brutally executed or taken hostage by Hamas after experiencing horrific sexual violence 2) Not only are there eyewitness accounts of the rapes, but videos 3) There is significant forensic evidence of these crimes."

The Israel War Room account also went after the anchor, posting, "Physical evidence of Hamas's Oct. 7 rapes is overwhelming and includes signs of sexual assault on women's bodies.

In addition to sharing an NBC News post with accounts of Hamas raping women, the account added, "@Briebriejoy's anti-feminist post begs the question: How can your hatred for Israel be so strong that it turns you into a rape denier?"

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman excoriated the journalist, declaring, "You are the worst person I have encountered on X. There aren’t enough words to fully explicate how vile this is."

Kiryas Joel School District Superintendent Joel Petlin wrote, "Witnesses to the rapes have testified, but Briahna knows that the victims are all dead. Forensic evidence was collected. Hamas terrorists even brag about it and justify it because it was Jews. How low does @briebriejoy have to stoop to disrespect these Jewish rape victims?"

And political influencer account Fusilli Spock wrote, "The knots, they have to tie themselves into to continue dehumanizing Jews will never stop amazing me."

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.