Scarred, scared

Scarred, scared | Daily Tribune

Many articles, opinion pieces, and editorials have been written celebrating International Women’s Month this March, heralding the contributions of women across nearly all fields worldwide.

Still, buried in the avalanche of feel-good stories are the tales of horror regarding the plight of Israeli women, which is largely being ignored by the outside world, particularly the atrocities that had been committed and are being committed against them by the terror organization Hamas.

Recognition and support for Israeli women had been fraught with challenges and systemic biases, Israel’s Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss, told DAILY TRIBUNE during a roundtable discussion yesterday.

According to the envoy, the events of 7 October 2023, during which Hamas massacred over a thousand people in Israel, marked a significant turning point for Israeli women, with the United Nations taking five long months before grudgingly admitting the horrendous crimes committed against them.

Many Israeli women, according to Ambassador Fluss, have been scarred for life, having faced unimaginable horrors at the hands of Hamas — sexual abuse, rape, murder and mutilation during captivity and in the aftermath of the attacks. Despite overwhelming evidence, their narratives have been met with skepticism and doubt.

For example, the UN’s silence on the continuing captivity of 19 Israeli women is deafening, with fears that many may have already been killed like the 30 other hostages that had been murdered.

According to Fluss, it’s almost a given, a painful fact that the 19, if they are still alive, had met the same fate as the other female victims of Hamas — raped and subjected to the most depraved assaults by their captors.

Hamas continues to hold 134 hostages in Gaza, yet there is a conspicuous absence of support and sympathy from international leaders and women’s organizations for the women captives during Women’s Month. This disregard, Fluss said, further erodes the trust Israeli women have in the international community, especially the UN, exacerbating their feelings of discrimination and isolation.

Five and a half months since 7 October, Fluss maintained that the infiltration of UN agencies by Hamas, especially the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, raises alarming concerns about complicity and collusion between the UN and the Palestinian terror group in perpetuating violence against Israeli civilians.

The envoy averred that evidence suggests that UNRWA, tasked with aiding Palestinian refugees, has been coopted by Hamas operatives, compromising its neutrality and integrity. The UN’s failure to address these issues underscores a glaring double standard when it comes to Israel, he warned.

Exacerbated by UN policies that perpetuate generational refugee status, the Palestinian refugee crisis, Fluss explained, contributes to the ongoing tensions in the region. Unlike other refugee populations, Palestinians are uniquely disadvantaged by a system that perpetuates their statelessness and dependence on aid. Compounded by its infiltration by Hamas, UNRWA’s involvement only serves to prolong the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis, he averred.

For the state of Israel which is surrounded by antagonistic nations, the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on the global stage is deeply concerning, with Jewish communities facing increasing hostility and discrimination. Recent hearings in the United States Congress, where anti-Semitic remarks were made with impunity, highlighted the urgent need to combat the prejudice and hatred.

Fluss reckoned that the international community must stand united against all forms of bigotry and intolerance, and reaffirm its commitment to combating racial hatred wherever it arises. In the face of overwhelming adversity, Fluss, however, stressed Israel’s unwavering resolution to wipe out Hamas once and for all to ensure that the group could never inflict on their people such a massive attack like the one late last year, which ranked second only to the Holocaust in the number of people killed.

The ambassador stressed that Israel remains steadfast in its pursuit of peace and security for all its citizens, while operating with the utmost respect for international law, targeting Hamas while trying to minimize harm to civilians, including those being used by Hamas as human shields.

As Women’s Month draws to a close, Fluss made a plea for the Israeli women whose voices, he said, have been silenced and whose suffering has been overlooked.