South African Jewish women rally against government’s silence on abuse of hostages
Marking International Women’s Day, protest organizer says Jewish women held to extra burden of proof, calls out hypocrisy of president for not speaking out for captives
A group of South African Jewish women held an International Women’s Day march on Friday to denounce their government’s silence on abuse by Hamas terrorists against Israeli hostages.
Organized by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the women marched in the scorching Johannesburg sun under the banner “Me Too unless you are a Jew.”
“Jewish women are put to an extra burden of proof all over the world,” said one of the organizers, Gabriella Farber Cohen.
“This one is not like any other women’s day, we are deeply saddened by the horrors and atrocities that were committed by the Hamas terrorists,” Farber Cohen said, accusing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of hypocrisy.
A mix of young and old, including high school students, chanted “Bring back our girls” as they waved placards with the faces of the females still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza after five months.
“Ramaphosa constantly talks about gender-based violence… the hypocrisy is that he in 154 days has not mentioned one word, not even condemned the sexual violence that these Israeli women had to endure,” Farbercohen said.
In December, Pretoria made a complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, alleging that its assault on Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention.
Last month, the country further urged the UN’s top court to place more legal pressure on Israel but has not spoken out on Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The South African government has also threatened to prosecute its nationals who leave to fight in the Israel Defense Forces, claiming that such an action may contribute to the violation of international law.
A UN report issued Monday said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” rapes were committed in Hamas’s deadly onslaught, and that hostages subsequently taken to Gaza have also been raped.
Mariam Gavran, part of the Survivors of Sexual Violence Advocacy Group, flew in from Israel and told the crowd of her experience on October 7, saying she felt “helpless.”
“I cannot believe that the international community has been silent about it, saying it has not happened,” she said.
Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 253 hostages, while committing brutal atrocities.
“Those girls don’t have a voice” Mandy Perez, 33, told AFP. “I’m a mother of three girls and I cannot imagine my girls missing for even one day.”
