Today’s suggested actions to support Israel in your local community:

  • Listen to yesterday’s session at the UN about the horrific sexual violence that was perpetrated by Hamas terrorists.
  • Call your elected officials to let them know that you support Israel in its just and moral battle to defeat Hamas terrorism. Click here to enter your zip code and contact your elected officials.
  • Send the campaign link to at least ten people inviting them to join you in this community-wide effort in support of Israel.
  • Read the latest Jewish Federations’ leadership message on our next steps to support Israel.
  • Watch and share the story of 19-year-old Naama Levy, the great-granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Naama is a young activist who participated in the Hands of Peace project in the U.S. towards co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians. She was abducted by Hamas terrorists from her army base and was filmed being dragged away by a gunman and pulled by her hair, with her pants covered in blood.  

Issue:
The response of international organizations and women’s rights groups to Hamas’ extreme sexual violence has been shockingly muted. Yesterday, the Israeli Mission to the United Nations hosted a special session at the UN to address sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7th terror attacks and to demand international organizations condemn these depredations as human rights violations. (Trigger warning: descriptions of sexual assault).

Background:

  • An in-depth report by The Times of London found that committing acts of sexual violence was part of the stated mission of the Hamas terrorists; further investigations have revealed the widespread extent of this.
  • An Israeli police investigator told the Knesset that more than 1,500 testimonies of acts of sexual violence, from alleged gang rape to post-mortem mutilation, have been provided. Disturbing details have been shared by survivors of the Supernova music festival and described by volunteers who received bodies at the morgue.
  • Head of the International Crime Investigations Unit of the Israeli police Meni Binyamin said that autopsies, forensic evidence, and confessions from captured Hamas terrorists corroborate that sexual crimes were committed.
  • Chair of the Israeli Civil Commission on Oct 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, said that the difficulty in completing the investigations will be extremely challenging as many of the women who were sexually assaulted and raped were subsequently murdered.
  • Despite the UN’s stated commitment to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, it took The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women, over 50 days to issue a public statement condemning the acts of violence perpetrated on that day. UN Secretary General António Guterres waited until November 29th to issue a statement.
  • Last week, a bipartisan group of 80 Members of Congress issued a letter to UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous that expressed outrage over international skepticism and denial of the atrocities and urged “UN Women to maintain its credibility by publicly denouncing the atrocious violation of women’s rights by Hamas terrorists.”
  • A social media campaign sprouted with hashtags such as #MeTooUnlessUrAJew” and “#BelieveIsraeliWomen.” Social media influencers have joined the condemnation of the deafening silence; among the most prominent influencers are Sheryl Sandberg and Gal Gadot.
  • Among those testifying yesterday was Zaka volunteer Simcha Greiman, who recounted that the body of one woman had “nails and different objects in her female organs.” In another house, a person’s genitals were so mutilated that “we couldn’t identify if it was a man or a woman.”
  • Hillary Clinton also addressed the UN session by video, saying: “Many women and girls were attacked brutally on October 7th. We must respond to weaponized sexual violence, wherever it happens, with absolute condemnation.”
  • Grave concern remains over the hostages still in captivity. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said that the department has “seen the reports that Hamas has committed sexual violence, they’ve committed rape, we have no reason at all to doubt those reports” and suggested that one of the reasons Hamas apparently does not want to release the remaining women hostages is because “they don’t want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody.”
  • Jewish Federations are appalled by the lack of response from the international community and demand these crimes be investigated as human rights violations.

Community Spotlight

On Monday, some 20,000 Jewish people and allies braved freezing temperatures and snowflakes at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill at a rally led by CIJA and Canada’s Jewish Federations in solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, in solidarity with Israel, and for the rights of Jewish Canadians to live without fear of antisemitism.

The Community Mobilization Center is monitoring major developments in Israel and North America related to Israel’s war against Hamas. The Community Mobilization Center will rapidly disseminate resources to help mobilize and support our local communities as they build and sustain civic and political support for Israel in this conflict. The work of the Community Mobilization Center will continue as long as it takes Israel to eradicate the terrorist threat and restore security to the country.