Believe Women—Except Israelis Like Me | Opinion

On November 25, the United Nations marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The universality of the issue was acknowledged by the U.N. in 1981. The U.N. would go on to recognize that women in situations of armed conflict are particularly vulnerable in its 1993 declaration on the subject. No matter the ideological, racial, ethnic, religious, or cultural differences that divide us, women across the globe must unite around a common interest: the elimination of gender-based violence.

As a female lawyer and diplomat working in international diplomacy and U.N. affairs, I have always emphasized the significance of the anniversary and have called for an immediate end to all forms of violence against women.

But recently, I discovered that I, along with around 5 million other women, have been pulled out of the U.N. Women's Organization's umbrella protection—because we are Israeli citizens. Regretfully, I've come to understand that Israeli women who identify as Druze, Muslims, Christians, or Jews do not merit the same respect from UN women's organizations as the rest of the 4 billion women worldwide.

The author, Sawsan Hasson

A few weeks ago, on October 7, Israeli women were victims of sexual violence and murder perpetuated by Hamas terrorists. Close to a hundred women of all ages have been held captive in Gaza, away from their families and loved ones. Innocent civilians were raped, tortured, beheaded, burnt alive, and more. They were attacked in their homes, in public, and at a music festival. Approximately 240 people, among them babies and the elderly, were abducted to the Gaza Strip.

Women and girls were specifically targeted for violence and mutilation on that dreadful day. It' clear that rape was a premeditated component of Hamas' strategy.

But until now, no U.N. body responsible for the welfare of women has condemned Hamas's rape and murder of Israeli women and girls.

This silence is immoral and shameful.

The first evidence that numerous Israelis had been raped emerged almost immediately as the terrorists themselves filmed young women stripped of their clothing or with large blood stains on their pants being kidnapped to Gaza. The videos were published by Hamas on social media in real time and quickly spread around the world.

Since then, more proof of Hamas's gender-based violence has emerged. In addition to physical evidence collected from morgues and crime scenes, gut-wrenching testimony too disturbing to repeat here has been given by survivors, eyewitnesses, forensic medical experts, rescue and recovery teams, and ambulance crews.

Despite this mountain of proof, the extensive sexual assault of Israeli women—a crime against humanity—has been largely ignored by the U.N., international human rights organizations, women's groups, and much of the global media.

More shockingly, in the age of #MeToo and Believe Women, far too many supposed supporters of justice, human rights, and feminism—including young women the same age as the music festival victims—are engaging in rape-denial. Some have chosen to justify or even mock and celebrate one of the most gruesome and publicized attacks on women in recent memory.

Protestors gather at the offices of the United Nations Women on November 27, 2023 in New York City. The group Bring Them Home Now held a protest to observe International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to bring attention to the Israeli women who were allegedly raped during the terror attack by the militant group Hamas on October 7th.

Michael M. Santiago/

Remaining silent constitutes a tacit endorsement of these atrocities. The silence of international organizations, women's groups, and activists is indeed deafening.

The lack of international condemnation dishonors the victims and survivors, while angering many advocates for women and girls. As Michal Herzog, First Lady of the State of Israel, noted in her recent Newsweek article on the subject , "For the Israelis who have always been on the forefront of the fight for women's rights worldwide, this was a moment of crushing disappointment."

It is long past time for women everywhere to condemn Hamas's atrocities, not just because it is in their own interest but because it is the right thing to do.

Womanhood calls for the expression of solidarity every time rape, sexual mutilation, and gender-based violence are deployed as weapons of war, no matter the nationality or religion of those targeted. We all owe that to the survivors who are still traumatized and to the memory of the girls and women who lost their lives on that most horrific of days.

I call upon U.N.: make the Israeli woman's voice heard!

Sawsan Natour Hasson is Minister for Public Diplomacy at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC. A diplomat and an esquire, Sawsan is the married mother of two young boys. She is a Druze from Daliat El Carmel.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.