UN cold to Israel women

The organization UN Women regularly issues statements condemning specific instances of violence and abuse of women worldwide. But it took this UN agency, which purports to advocate for gender equity and female empowerment, nearly 50 days to condemn Hamas terrorists for raping and sexually assaulting Israeli and other women, which video footage and witnesses documented on Oct. 7.

“Me, too, unless you are a Jew!” was among the rallying cries, as 100 women protested Monday outside the NYC headquarters of UN Women.

“We came here to demand from them to speak up and to condemn the horrific acts that Israeli women, Muslim women, Jewish women, Thai wom-en, American women, German women went through on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists,” Shany Grubot-Lubaton, one of the protest organizers, told JNS.

“It seems like they forgot that they’re fighting for all women,” she said of the UN agency. “If they’re not fighting for all women, then they’re fighting for none.”

Almost immediately after it posted on Instagram — “We condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 and continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” — UN Women deleted it.

It replaced the post on Instagram and X with a broader statement: “We met with Israeli women’s organizations and heard about the work of the civil commission for crimes against women and children. We remain alarmed by gender-based violence reports on 7 Oct. and call for rigorous investigation, prioritizing the rights, needs and safety of those affected.”

The second post mentioned neither Hamas nor Jewish victims.

Those gathered on Monday were dressed in white with red paint symbolizing blood splattered near their groin and other areas. The protesters carried signs demanding “Believe all women” and “Rape is rape.”

One sign — “Your silence is loud” — was directed at Sima Bahous, a Jordanian woman who serves as the executive director of UN Women.

Bahous remained silent in response to a JNS request for comment.

Granot-Lubaton told JNS that she is disappointed that the international community supporting women’s rights and safety, which Jewish women have backed on many issues for many years, is failing to come to the aid of Israelis.

“Last Saturday was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and they did not speak up,” she said. “They had all these conferences and roundtables and events, but not one word against these horrible acts that’s been just recently committed on Israel land and it’s a real shame on them.”