"Don't be silent": The cry that has become a symbol of the haredi organizations fighting sexual abuse within the haredi sector suddenly takes on additional meaning. Ultra-Orthodox women plan to demonstrate in front of the UN headquarters in Jerusalem on Monday to protest the deafening silence on the serious sex crimes committed against Jewish women on October 7. The demonstration is organized by the organization "Hanani" for the community, which deals in normal times with exposing sexual abuse within the ultra-Orthodox sector.
Campaign against the silence of UN Women
"It turns out that silencing sexual abuse and rape of women is something that is widespread all over the world," says Sarah Hurvitz, an ultra-Orthodox social activist. "As someone who is fighting this phenomenon in the ultra-Orthodox sector, I feel obligated to come and participate in this demonstration in front of the UN. Because what happened on Simchat Torah in the Gaza envelope could have happened anywhere in the country. And according to the silence of the United Nations Organization for Women's Rights and Empowerment, this can happen to any Jew in the world. Before the rape and murder, the terrorists were not interested in whether this woman was kibbutz or secular, religious or ultra-Orthodox, leftist or right-wing. Everyone is invited to protest."
Demonstration in front of UN headquarters, photo: Hanani organization
The demonstration in front of UN headquarters will be led by the Association of Crisis Centers for Victims of Sexual Assault and the Women's Lobby in Israel, demanding that the UN women's rights organization, UN Women, speak out against the rapes and sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, and help return the abductees and abductees At the same time as the Israeli protests, additional demonstrations against the organization will be held throughout Europe and the United States.
Orit Sulitziano, Executive Director of the Association of Crisis Centers for Victims of Sexual Assault: "A huge moral stain is placed on women's organizations around the world who remain deafening silence in the face of sexual violence against the victims of the October 7 massacre. The basic concept of 'I believe you,' shared by all those who engage in violence against women, has been shattered in the most painful way possible."
Attorney Einat Fischer Lalo, Executive Director of the Women's Lobby: "As the days go by, the harsh picture of the gender-based violence that took place on that accursed Shabbat becomes clearer, and alongside this the silence of women's organizations, especially UN Women, which find it difficult to fully recognize the acts and victims and fail to condemn the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for these crimes."
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