Women’s groups condemn UN report, slam silence on Israeli victims

Cochav Elkayam-Levy, who heads the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, an independent body that chronicles accounts of sexual violence against victims in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, says a report accusing Israel of using sexual violence as a strategy against Gazans follows the pattern of “efforts to create a false comparison between Israel and Hamas, especially in the context of sexual violence.”

“Sadly, this pattern has repeated itself across various UN bodies since October 7th,” she says in a statement. “This moral comparison is painful and wrong because its purpose is to establish false historical narratives and inflicts irreparable harm both on the victims and on justice.

“We have always believed in international institutions and the human rights system, but such conduct, which seeks to entrench false historical narratives, must end. We owe the truth to the victims.”

Hagit Peer, president of Israeli women’s rights group Na’amat, says the “outrageous report attempts to turn the victim into the aggressor” and accuses international groups that campaign against sexual violence of ignoring Israeli and Jewish victims.

“This report reeks of blatant antisemitism. There is an effort here to create an alternative and inverted reality regarding the sexual massacre carried out by Hamas against Israeli women and men, while international institutions remain deafeningly silent.”