Silence of the Feminist Lambs: Not a Word on Hamas Horrors - The Jewish Voice

Thus, I may have been among a handful of people not surprised by the feminist silence on Hamas’ Oct. 7 pogrom-on-steroids. It does not ease my sorrow that so many others, including the worldwide media and professoriate, human rights groups, and the United Nations, are also actively engaging in Oct. 7 denialism, as well as in relentless and vicious blood libels against the Jewish state, every single day.

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On Dec. 19 — 73 days after the massacre — Ms. magazine posted an article that mentioned all victims of gender-based violence, especially those from conflict in Afghanistan, the Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen. Geeta Rao Gupta wrote: “We are deeply concerned by the increased risk of [gender-based violence] for women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank as a result of displacement, among other factors.”

This article only mentioned Israel in the fourth paragraph, and then only as part of argument about both Palestinian and Israeli women. The author was trying to normalize (or hide) what happened on Oct. 7 by merging it with other rapes in conflict zones.

Subsequently, in January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Jan. 15–19), Israel government officials screened the 48-minute video of pogrom horror to three separate groups; Mandy Sanghera moderated a panel sponsored by Shelley Zalis’ Female Quotient in which rape in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Israel was discussed. The families of Israeli hostages spoke on another panel.

On Jan. 25, four Muslim women (Farhana Khorshed, Soraya Deen, Raheel Raza, and Zainab Khan), three of whom I know and with whom I have worked, and one who had been recently funded to visit southern Israel, published a piece in Newsweek, in which they wrote:

We as Muslim women have condemned the Oct.7 attacks…. Our faith demands that we speak out and ensure that there is no justification for these atrocious acts….

Speaking about those crimes is the only way to stand with the victims, which is vital to healing for survivors…

It seems very likely that bias, antisemitism, and politics contributed to this silence….

If we, as Muslim women, do not raise our voices against this, we are giving a green light to other extremist groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS, and Hezbollah, who are already emboldened in their acts of terrorism and violence, to act like Hamas.

On Jan. 31, Sheryl Sandberg, hosted by Lord John Mendelsohn, chaired an event in the House of Lords titled “Stand Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the October 7th Hamas Terror Attack.” Allow me to give Sandberg the last word. In a CNN article published in November, she wrote:

On October 7, Hamas terrorists committed unspeakable atrocities that we must speak about — and speak about loudly. Numerous witnesses have testified that sexual violence was widespread on that day…. Yet some are flat-out denying that these atrocities occurred….

Not loudly condemning the rapes of October 7 — or any rapes — is a massive step backward for the women — and men — of the world….

We must denounce these rapes in every conversation, at every rally, and on signs held on every street corner. We must forget our conflicting politics and remember our common humanity.

Sheryl: Brava! And — Hineni. Here I am, together with a small and very precious group of American and Canadian feminist Zionists — we are all ready to support your work in any way.

Read Phyllis Chesler's Full Article Here: https://thejewishvoice.com/2024/02/silence-of-the-feminist-lambs-not-a-word-on-hamas-horrors/#google_vignette