Read the Report
The Civilian Commission (CCO7) on Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children published its extensive and well documented report “Silenced No More, Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity” was published May 12th this year. The report is almost 300 pages of deeply disturbing, extremely difficult to read descriptions of the systematic sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) committed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the crimes committed against hostages in Gaza. The report can be downloaded from the site https://www.civilc.org/silenced-no-more. Do not be satisfied with summaries by journalists or commentators, by social media posts or assume that you know what is in the report because you follow the news, especially after the events of October 7th. Out of respect for Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy and her team at CCO7 who painstakingly gathered evidence, endured personal trauma while interviewing hundreds of witnesses, viewed thousands of hours of stomach-turning videos and pictures and visited the sites of the atrocities, read the report. Out of respect for the victims of the atrocities, those who survived and those who did not, for the hostages who suffered SGBV throughout their captivity, for the families of the victims who were forced to see their loved ones’ suffering on social media, often intentionally sent by the perpetrators, read the report. Out of respect for the thousands of first responders, medical personnel, volunteers, police, and soldiers who responded to the attacks, many losing their own lives in that response, many who were exposed to the horrors of October 7th in the hours and days following, as bodies, body parts and scenes of horror which could not be imagined were uncovered, read the report.
Whether it is by coincidence or intent that Nicolas Kristoff published an opinion in the New York Times on May 11th, the day before the publication of the CCO7 report, entitled “The Silence that Meets the Rape of Palestinians”, it feels as if this is part of an attempt to create an equivalency between the systematic sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th against Israelis and foreign workers, and upon hostages held in Gaza and the sexual violence and torture committed by Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers against Palestinians. The CCO7 report makes the point that all forms of sexual violence used as a weapon of war must be condemned no matter who commits them. “…sexual and gender-based violence, in all its forms, must be confronted rather than allowed to recede into history as something too painful to remember or too difficult to face at present” and further, “The international community must recognize, condemn, and respond to sexual violence wherever it occurs, and whoever the victims and perpetrators may be.” – Silenced No More. The horrific acts of sexual violence against Palestinians reported on by Kristoff must be investigated with the same thoroughness and diligence that the civil commission used to investigate the crimes committed by Hamas against Israelis and foreign workers as described in their report. This should not detract from the importance and impact of the CCO7 report.
I will not try to describe the heinous acts of sexual terror in the report because I am urging everyone to read the report themselves. I will, however, discuss some of my impressions and conclusions from reading the report.
The most important impression I have from the report is that my entire understanding of what took place in the Gaza Envelope between October 7th and October 9th and what took place for over 2 years inside of Gaza was distorted. It was my understanding from news reports during and since October 7th as well as hearing firsthand from witnesses, that what took place on October 7th was a massacre, the indiscriminate slaughter of men, women, children, and even babies. Of course, I had heard that women and men were raped, that bodies were mutilated and burned. After reading the report, however, I now understand that what took place in the Gaza Envelope was far worse than a massacre. The picture painted by the CCO7 report is of a hellish landscape worthy of a painting by Bosch. The depraved acts committed by Hamas and their affiliates, upon men, women, and children in the Gaza Envelope seems to have been the planned purpose of the attack and not some aberrant behavior of a few sadistic zealots.
While reading these horrific accounts, I ask myself, what does accountability look like? I do not speak of justice, because I do not think it is feasible to balance the scales. The acts were too horrific, the pain is too intense, the scars are too deep. Holding the perpetrators of SGBV crimes in the Gaza Envelope and in Gaza, accountable is a critical part of our nation’s healing process. I am not sure that we will ever be able to identify all those who participated in the acts of sexual terror committed on October 7th and afterwards. For those who have been identified and killed, this does not feel to me as if they have been held accountable. It feels like they got off too easy, especially since so many of them espoused their own martyrdom as an ultimate end. For those who have been captured or will be captured, I hope to witness a trial with witnesses and evidence so that the true nature of their evil acts will be exposed as in the Eichman Trial. I also wonder if the social media platforms which played a critical role in the crimes committed against humanity, through live streaming of atrocities and videos received by family members of their loved ones’ torture and death, will ever be held accountable.
Finally, I want to express my hope that my Palestinian colleagues, who condemned the violence on October 7th but often expressed skepticism about reports of the most extreme acts of depravity committed by Hamas and their affiliates, will read this report. I have spent the last two years trying to shine light on the devastation and suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, caused by Israel’s military response to the attacks on October 7th. It has not always been easy, and I have often been met with skepticism by Israelis and Jews regarding whether Palestinians are really starving, or whether the number of deaths of Palestinian non-combatants has been exaggerated. No-one wants to believe that “their people” can commit war crimes. The sad truth is that human beings, are capable of extreme cruelty to their fellow human beings, whether they be Jews, Christians, Moslems, Hindus, or Buddhists; Palestinians, Israelis or any other nationality, ethnicity or ideology from around the globe. We must learn to look directly into the darkness if we want to bring forth the light. We also must ask ourselves what responsibility we bear for creating conditions in this world which allow for such evil to arise.
