The bill to increase punishment for nationalist-motivated sex offenders, which was approved by the Knesset on Sunday, drew the ire of Paula Rosenberg, who rushed to her online social pages to share her difficult feelings following the legislation.
Paula Rosenberg's Crazy Change (archive)
Rosenberg began her poignant Facebook and Instagram post with the cynical headline "The *updated* guide to the Israeli rapist," asking: "Girls, women, girls, girls, female babies. Pay attention to an important update. If, God forbid, you have experienced rape, please note, from today there is a new law: find out what was the *motive* of the man who raped you: did he commit the heinous act on nationalistic grounds or did he just rape for his sick sadistic pleasure without a nationalistic background? Why does it matter, you probably ask, and rightly so, since the trauma and the indescribable pain and suffering caused to the rapist do not depend on the religion or motives of the rapist.
"So, dear, from now on, the question of the intentions of the rapist who harmed your body and soul, nationalistic or 'only' criminal, will affect the degree of punishment the rapist receives and the amount of compensation you will receive as compensation for the act," Rosenberg explained to her tens of thousands of followers the main points of the new law.
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"Yes yes, what you heard, I couldn't believe it when I read this either," she wrote, going on to recount a number of shocking rapes that were brought to her attention and do not appear to be part of the principles of the new law because they were not committed by minorities. "And here's the proposal of Otzma Yehudit and the Likud: Each of the men I mentioned, except for the Palestinian Muslim man from Hebron, will receive only half the punishment that the Palestinian will receive for that act, if it is proven that he had nationalistic intent in the act of rape. Not only that, each of those raped by a man who does not have nationalist intentions will receive half the compensation compared to the compensation received by a woman who was raped for motives of nationalist terrorism," she continued.
"You are probably asking, rightly, why discriminate between the compensation of women who experienced a similar act, just because of the identity of the rapist, especially in light of the many studies in the field that prove that the emotional harm is even deeper and more complex and severe when it comes to a close person and not a stranger. The damage to one's sense of security is all the more shocking," she wrote.
Paula Rosenberg, Photo: Arik Sultan
"So my beloved dear ones, don't fool yourself," she clarified to her followers. "This law is not intended to improve women's rights, it is intended to strengthen the nationalist-racist character of the State of Israel. No matter how you spin it, the State of Israel wants to give leniency to Jewish rapist men as opposed to Muslim rapist men. It makes no sense! !ïž Rape is rape is rape," she clarified emphatically.
"There is a great chance that a Palestinian rapist who goes to court will be charged against him in light of the new law that he raped on nationalist grounds. This is exactly how more hatred and racism are fueled within our already inflamed society," she continued. "I'm sure none of you suspect me even for a moment of trying to defend rapists, because as far as I'm concerned, a person who raped a man or a woman, for my part be a Baha'i, Circassian, Jew, Muslim, Christian, atheist, Buddhist or a relative of mine - that shouldn't change the attitude towards the act. There are no discounts and no benefits for a rapist because of his affiliation with Judaism.
Paula Rosenberg, Photo: Or Danon
"Woe betide us if we become a country where the severity of a crime is determined by the religion of the criminal," she wrote, then addressed members of the government directly: "I know you don't mind being considered racist, dear members of the government, but maybe you do care a little about being appreciated by the citizens who are supposed to vote for you. So it's important for you to know that we don't get confused and don't get confused â we don't fall into your trap. We get the message exactly: when you get tougher on someone's punishment, it also means that you get a harsher sentence for the other person who committed the same crime.
"When you call the law 'harsher punishment for sexual assault on the grounds of nationalist terrorism,' you are essentially telling us that a man who rapes a woman or girl, his daughter or sister or neighbor or employee, even if he penetrates her against her will, injures her, sodomizes her, obliges her to perform oral sex â but has no nationalistic motive â will be punishable by half that of a rapist who committed the exact same act and can be attributed intentions against the Jewish state.
Paula Rosenberg, Photo: Or Oren
"I ask you, MK Limor Sun Har-Melech, as a woman to a woman," Rosenberg said to one of the bill's sponsors. "Is a woman or girl raped by a Jew supposed to hurt less? Is this the sacrifice she is supposed to make for the Jewish kingdom? To be more forgiving of Jewish men who hurt her than Muslim men? And another question: Does a Muslim or Christian or Druze girl or woman who is raped, her pain and suffering count less? After all, Minister Ben-Gvir said that this law contains 'a clear statement for those who harm Jewish girls.'
"There is no protection for women here, on the contrary," she sought to clarify and warn. "This is a cynical exploitation of the deep pain experienced by women rape survivors to advance the agenda of conservative and racist Orthodox Jewish supremacy. This is what a dictatorship looks like," she concluded.
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