Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed international women’s organizations on Tuesday for their silence regarding the growing evidence of sexual violence, including rape and mutilation, by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women on October 7.
After initial videos of women’s nearly-naked corpses being paraded through Gaza, and eyewitness accounts of rape, more and more evidence has been emerging of Hamas gang-raping and torturing women — and even men — during their attack. Though Israeli investigators were often unable to collect forensic evidence, due to ongoing fighting, those who examined the bodies of Israeli victims found evidence of sexual abuse and torture, and more eyewitnesses have emerged in Israel’s investigation.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Protestors gather at the offices of the United Nations Women on November 27, 2023 in New York City. The group Bring Them Home Now held a protest to observe International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to bring attention to the Israeli women who were allegedly raped during the terror attack by the militant group Hamas on October 7th. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
UN Women, the main United Nations organization for women’s equality, did not react to allegations of sexual violence against Israeli women until late last week, nearly eight weeks after the attack. “Progressive” Democrats have equivocated on the issue, pushing back against allegations by noting that Israel, too, has been accused (often falsely) of (other) rights violations.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations held a special session on Monday and in a press conference Tuesday, Netanyahu blasted the hypocrisy of the world’s human rights groups and women’s groups.
In Hebrew, he said:
I must say that until recent days, I haven’t heard the international human rights organizations, I haven’t heard the women’s organizations, I haven’t heard the women’s organizations in the United Nations — I have not heard their cry. And I say to them: Where are you? You went silent because we’re talking about Jewish women?
Switching to English, he said:
I say to the women’s rights organizations, to the human rights organizations: You’ve heard of the rape of Israeli women, horrible atrocities, sexual mutilation? Where the hell are you? I expect all civilized leaders, governments, nations to speak up against this atrocity.
Netanyahu spoke in the aftermath of a contentious meeting with the families of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas.
After Hamas violated a seven-day truce last Friday, ending negotiations, the Israeli government has decided to continue fighting in Gaza. Some of the families want the government to negotiate at any cost, worried about what may happen to their loved ones.
According to the Times of Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden also expressed frustration with international organizations when it came to atrocities against Israeli women. “The world can’t just look away at what’s going on,” he told a fundraiser in Boston.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
