29 groups challenge UN over response to Israeli victims of Hamas’ weaponized sexual violence

Refusing to be ignored, 29 groups advocating for Israeli victims of weaponized sexual violence at the hands of Hamas are demanding to have the atrocities acknowledged alongside others by the UN at the annual campaign against gender-based violence.

The hashtag #MeToo made millions of silenced victims of sexual abuse visible. Yet, given the widespread refusal to acknowledge the sexual violence Hamas committed against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, and in the events that followed, many have begun adding a suffix to the catchphrase: #MeToo – unless you’re a Jew.

Israelis have employed a variety of strategies, demonstrations and protests to highlight to the world the way Hamas weaponized sexual violence, but the sections of society that typically support victims of sexual attack have remained resolutely silent – or worse, vocal in their refusal to believe what Israeli victims have experienced, or to recognize Israeli suffering.

Despite the UN-santioned Dinah report on the multiple accounts of weaponized sexual violence committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem, recently rejected the report according to Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.

In the face of this widespread denial, Hadassah led 29 advocacy groups in urging UN leaders to call for justice and accountability at the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence at the UN.

The 16-day campaign runs each year from Nov. 25, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until Human Rights Day on Dec. 10. It was started by activists who were calling for action and awareness at the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, and has since become globally recognized by the UN and the World Health Organization. 

National President of Hadassah Carol Ann Schwartz said, “The rise of conflict-related sexual violence is a crisis of global proportions,” adding, “We at Hadassah, and our partners, call on the UN to ensure that justice and accountability are not optional. Leaders around the world must take urgent action to ensure that terrorists and bad actors like Hamas are no longer emboldened to weaponize rape.”

Anila Ali, President, American Muslim and Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council also affirmed the statement: “We commend the inclusion of Hamas as a party credibly suspected of conflict-related sexual violence in this year’s UN report.” She continued, “Now the UN must follow through with decisive measures that hold all perpetrators accountable and deliver justice for survivors, both in Israel and around the globe.”

“For two years in a row, the UN has documented record levels of gender-based violence in conflict. When the UN holds perpetrators accountable, it sends a message that women’s lives matter,” added Meredith Jacobs, Jewish Women International, and Co-Founder, I Believe Israeli Women. “When the UN fails to act, it tells survivors their suffering can be ignored.”

"Sexual violence is being weaponized as a tool of war around the world and as Jewish advocates commanded to pursue justice and uphold the dignity of every person, we will not be silent," said Jody Rabhan, Executive Vice President, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW).

"NCJW has been calling out Hamas' weaponization of sexual violence since October 7, including by hosting a powerful session at the UN entitled ‘Hear Our Voices,’ giving voice to victims of this atrocity. The UN's recognition of these crimes was long overdue, but recognition without accountability is hollow. We urge the international community to ensure that survivors and their families receive the support and justice they deserve, both in Israel and in every conflict zone where gender-based violence is used as a weapon of war."

The 29 groups joined to compose a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten and UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous, expressing their concerns which have been delineated in the 2024 Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. 

To date, the UN has taken the step of blacklisting Hamas as a party credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for committing sexual violence, but the groups insist that more action is needed. In the wake of new hostage testimonies of rape and abuse, the groups have urged that the UN should adopt an international protocol based on survivor-centered frameworks, in order to prevent, investigate and respond to conflict-related sexual violence all over the world.