We must bear witness
Reporting on sexual violence Hamas perpetrated against Israelis on October 7, and the physical and psychological torture the hostages underwent in Gaza.
Two months after Hamas terrorists massacred, raped and kidnapped Israelis, there are still people who are trying to deny any of it ever happened.
Then, there are those who don’t deny October 7 happened, but they ridicule and downplay it. Being held hostage isn’t so bad, they say. The conditions were “reasonable.” No women actually testified to being raped.
Sadly, this form of evil is not new.
Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in his essay "Anti-Semite and Jew:"
“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”
Those of us who do not delight in antisemitism, those of us who value the Jewish people and the spirit of every human being, created in the image of God, must bear witness. We must be armed with the knowledge of what Hamas did, in the face of the absurd arguments put forward with a straight face by those who hate us.
Today, I bring you articles for that purpose, so that we know the evil that Hamas committed on October 7.
The testimony in these articles is at times graphic and difficult to read, so I will provide a shorter preview than usual here, and link to further details.
Amid documented sexual violence, a new civil commission aims to hold Oct. 7 perpetrators responsible
As the Israel Police sifts through the massive quantity of evidence from Hamas’ massacre of Israelis last month, it’s working to build the case for charges of rape against many of the terrorists. Meanwhile, the founders of the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women, outraged at the silence from international women’s and humanitarian organizations, are documenting cases of Hamas’ use of sexual violence as a weapon against Israelis.
Hostages young and old endured physical and psychological torture
Some lost 20% of their body weight, one even resorting to eating toilet paper because food was so scarce. Others went weeks without vital medication. A child was kept in solitary confinement for 16 days. Terrorists took a three-year-old from her parents and twin sister. With more than 100 hostages now free from Hamas captivity, testimony of the relatives and Israeli doctors who are caring for the women and children released from Gaza paint a vivid picture of the inhumane conditions in which they were held.
“We were brutally kidnapped from our house,” said Danielle Aloni, who was taken hostage by Hamas with her daughter Emilia, 6. “Our girls saw things that kids that age, or any age, should not see.”
Anyone spending time reading about the hostages on social media surely encountered the claims that they were in love with their captors, an even more extreme version of the claim that they were treated well — as though the kidnapping itself isn’t a form of mistreatment.
If social media is any indication, I and many others assumed that the hostages were acting friendly because they were threatened by the Hamas terrorists. This seemed to be borne out by testimony from hostages, including children, who said they were told Hamas would kill them if they told the truth about the conditions of their captivity.
But the truth, as I learned from the Knesset Health Committee today, is more evil than I imagined: Hamas drugged the hostages so that they would feel and look euphoric while their handover from the terrorists to the International Red Cross was being filmed. Read more details here.
Qatar played a key role in negotiating the hostages-for-terrorists exchange, and Qatar has been keeping Hamas afloat for over a decade at this point. I zoomed in on one of the most influential figures in Qatar, the emir’s mother, Sheikha Moza. Read about her here.
Some other articles that may interest you:
Lahav! You have an email and I could have sent the earlier comment by email. But I’m happy to support you. Even if sometimes I SMH while reading articles or listening to JP podcast. However, I expose myself to opinions that may cause me discomfort. But it does make me learn and, I do learn from you.
Notice, I didn’t address the first prong in my earlier comment. I thought the second one sufficed to make my point.
I support normalization with Israel, albeit my enthusiasm has diminished. I do think Israel can be an amazing credit for the region.
BTW, I’m in no way discounting the horrors of October 7. Hundreds of civilians were killed and kidnapped! My heart aches when I read their stories.
Happy New Year!
Dear Lahav, please, with an open mind read my take on the articles you wrote about (1) the alleged sexual assault claims (2) the treatment of hostages. I understand Arabic and I’m often depressed by its one-sided reporting on Arabic media. It turns out Israeli press isn’t faring better.
Let’s begin with the latter. Of course nobody likes to be taken hostage or lose their liberty. But the Israeli press’ focus on negativity, jump to believe every negative rumour about their treatment by hearsay, and deliberately ignoring recent testimonies from released hostages, just gives people a misleading narrative or highly exaggerated narrative. I’m amazed how Israelis love to build and sustain these narratives, then attack anyone who raises some questions about their credibility.
How on Earth did Mia Schem’s aunt (speaking moments after she met her niece outside a hospital) knew she was operated on by a veterinarian? Did Mia said that? Did the doctor in Gaza who treated her told her that? I just want to know the source of this information.
You also wrote about dwindling food supplies “malnutrition is a recurring theme in the testimonies of hostages”. However, that’s what all Gazans suffered from as days went by. Even 84 years old woman with pre-existing conditions survived over 50 days of captivity. Interesting that you mentioned Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released before the pause and her account of how she was hit with sticks when she was transferred to Gaza. She said so during her highly reported press conference. Many in the pro-Israel circles dismissed the part of her testimony about how softly she was treated and said her husband was still hostage. But why will she mention the awful part about her experience if she was afraid of consequences, and you took off with only that portion of her testimony? Interesting that the many in the Arabic press didn’t mentioned the violence she endured while she was transported. Both sides are omitting what they don’t like.
Just a few days ago, Channel 12 did interviews on the record with several of them. Mother and daughter Chen & Agam spoke at length about their experiences (link below). The father in the family and the eldest daughter were sadly killed on October 7. They literally said their captors did their level best to treat them well (despite some intense moments) and shared details about steps taken for that sake. They were valuable people and bargain chips. That never makes it to the hearsay articles, and the “unnamed medical staff” sources in several articles. Let me be clear, they also said they hate Hamas for killing their family members. No sugar coating here.
Drugging hostages to make them euphoric during hand-off? Hamas released every hand off video and they can -and I assume- edit anything bad in it. Why would they resort to drugging people? I saw people who were tired and some looked emotionless, and some little bit elated for gaining back their freedom. That’s normal.
Agam & Chen interview
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231224-mother-and-daughter-detail-hamas-humane-treatment-during-the-time-they-were-held/