The Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women held a special meeting on Monday to mark the International Day for the Struggle against Violence against Women, on the topic: "Crimes against humanity committed by Hamas against women since the events of October 7."
Linor Abergel, along with dozens of other women, protesting the silence regarding the crimes committed against Israelis on October 7 // Photo: Yoni Rikner
Committee Chairwoman MK Pnina Tamanu Shteh opened the discussion with a minute of silence in memory of the victims, saying: "On October 7, we discovered the enormous extent of Hamas' cruelty – crimes against humanity – and extreme violence against women on that terrible day. Women – older men and young girls – were violently raped before being executed. Many were brutally and brutally murdered after being brutally abused, tortured and severely mutilated by Hamas terrorists. We, the Knesset, have the difficult and tragic responsibility to tell the world about what happened on October 7, since the world, international women's rights organizations, were largely silent."
Later, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said: "The international community has disappointed Israeli women. It took no less than 50 days for the United Nations Organization for the Advancement and Empowerment of Women to issue an official statement. For 50 days, they did not condemn anything perpetrated against Israeli women by Hamas.
"The late response that came was too late and too feeble," added Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, "In recent years we have seen the Mi-To campaign that talked about a woman's right to her body, but we saw that the Mi-To is only if you are not Jewish. We will not forget the deafening silence of the UN and its institutions and we will hear the cry of those who are not here with us."
"The world recognizes the phenomenon of rape during wartime as long as it is not directed at Jewish women, because otherwise it is impossible to explain the silence to the actions that happened on Black Sabbath," said MK Yulia Malinovsky.
Orly Gilboa, Daniella Gilboa's mother, said painfully: "Daniella, a 19-year-old girl, was kidnapped that terrible Shabbat along with several friends. Some received a sign of life and some did not. We think about what they're going through every second. What do they suffer when they are in the custody of these heartless terrorists? My body hurts when I think about what she's going through. I'm waiting for my beautiful girl who didn't do anything to anyone. Where is she now?"
Yarden Gonen, Romi Gonen's sister, who was abducted to Gaza while wounded and bleeding: "Romi is 23 years old, an amazing girl, our sun is at home and it is the glue that connects us all. Romi returned from a trip with her friend Gaia Halafia, z"l, and instead of celebrating peace and tranquility, she was able to be on the run for four hours. There were ten minutes of hope when the late Archangel Ben Shimoni arrived and rescued 12 people. Ten minutes later, my mother got a phone call screaming from Rumi who said Gaya had been shot and she wasn't answering, that she had been shot in the hand and that Ofir Sarfati had been wounded. A call of horrors. Now she's struggling to breathe from under the earth with a shot in her hand." Asked whether the Red Cross had visited Romi, Gonen replied: "We don't even know if she's alive. Such things must not be repeated anywhere else. I won't have children if that's what he looks like."
Israeli women cannot be left alone
European Parliament Vice President Pina Picerano: "The war crimes committed by Hamas on October 7 are beyond what any woman in the world can imagine. Rape, abuse, kidnapping, killing, often happens even in front of their own family. Israeli women cannot be left alone in these terrible times. I want to express my commitment and that of the parliament I represent in protecting all women from war crimes and terrorism."
The words of Yaffa Ohad, Noa Argamani's aunt, did not leave one dry eye in the room when she said: "Should a woman's face in 2023 look like this? Noa, a woman who just went to a party to celebrate with her boyfriend? That's what it should look like. We are not in 1938, when our people had a tremendous Holocaust. Here in my home, a Holocaust was created, women and children were slaughtered, and how the world doesn't cry out for it and rise to its feet in the face of these horrors. Noa loved life and loved being with her parents. I demand and ask all parties and all democratic countries to prepare a huge umbrella to bring it home. Noa's mother is seriously ill and terminally ill, the hourglass drips every minute. I ask for God's mercy and open the door for every channel and for world leaders that Noa will return and reunite with Mother even for one hour."
Adel al-Talakat, brother of Fatima al-Qarat: Terrorists killed her on her way to work. There is nothing we can do about it, but I ask only one thing: bring the abductees home. There were more than eight terrorists who killed my sister. They saw that she was Arab. They didn't care, it was just important for them to kill as much as possible. They didn't care that she was wearing a hijab."
President of the Bundestag, Ms. Barbel Bass: "My visit with the President of Germany is a sign of my solidarity with you and with Jews all over the world. What I saw were terrible things and Israel has every right to defend itself and fight Hamas. I met people who came to the village of Gaza immediately after the massacre and I saw pictures and it touched me especially when violence against women is repeatedly used in this war. The German government demands the return of the hostages and we will not rest until everyone returns home. It is important for us to be here to express support and solidarity. In the Bundestag, we voted unanimously to declare support for Israel and condemn what happened here. We have a special obligation and a special duty towards Israel and we will make sure that even on the streets of Germany there is no expression of support for terrorism and we will use all the legal tools at our disposal."
The distance of these terrorists from you is $400 and they are with you
Haim Otmozgin, commander of special units at ZAKA: "I am a foreign bird here. These are not topics I deal with or talk about, but I am here because I feel a mission. I'm here to testify. Until this moment, I have not opened the videos I took for testimony. I will share facts here because no one in the world can deny them to the testimonies I have. My eyes saw almost all the horrors, on the kibbutzim and on the roads. I want to tell the world, the distance of these terrorists from you is $400 and they are with you."
Shlomit Landes, head of the police investigations division: "Nothing will be the same since October 7th. Women who have been victims of sexual abuse, including pregnant women. At Camp Shura we saw the worst. We saw on the bodies of the victims the intensity of violence and evil and cruelty."
Deputy Superintendent Shelly Harush of Lahav Unit 433: "We are at the beginning of the investigation, during which more than one thousand five hundred testimonies were collected that the mind and mind find difficult to contain. They made sure the victims were killed while they were on the run. They acted systematically and deliberately. There was a mass extermination of everyone who crossed their path. The investigation is also about gathering evidence about sexual offences committed on the victims."
Deputy Commissioner Harush shook the participants of the discussion when she said: "The scope of the acts of terrorism is incomprehensible in terms of the number of murdered and the evil described by the witnesses." In the face of the incomprehensible testimonies, many of the conference participants could not hold back tears.
Why is the world silent?
MK Sharon Nir also spoke about women's heroism: "The ability to move from a place of weakness to stories of heroism for women who fight in the field, and the ability to look at everything as explosive female strength, is our greatness as women. This is one of Israel's most difficult hours. The deafening silence of women's organizations against crimes against humanity is a disgrace. In the testimonies we heard on our behalf, we cry out and demand the honor of those murdered and kidnapped from the world."
MK Limor Sun Har Melech: "The most painful thing is the silence and denial, we didn't have to come and bring proof, the world should have come to us and cried out from the first moment. I'm talking about the women's organizations that always supported them in every move and suddenly turned their backs on them. I demand from the whole world, if you don't cry it out, it's with you."
Embassies who were at the hearing also responded to the many remarks made during the discussion. Malta's ambassador said: "We must not be quiet in the face of what has happened. I condemn and continue to condemn and it is our duty that the world does not forget the events that happened." The Panamanian ambassador shared: "I have two daughters who saw the harrowing videos on Telegram. They asked where the voice of the world was. Why is it quiet? Why is the world silent?"
The Spanish ambassador added, "Hamas is pure evil. You can be sure that we convey everything we see and hear. I understand that you feel betrayed, and alone, but we're doing our best." Canada's ambassador also said they would continue to echo this: "We are a feminist country. We were too quiet. We believe Israeli women."
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