By Michelle Elisburg
Guest Columnist
Michelle Elisburg
Although uncomfortable, there are times when we must not turn away from something disturbing. After the horrific attack on October 7, Hadassah, an organization that has advocated for women since its founding over 112 years ago, continues to compel the world to acknowledge the sexual violence against Israeli women by Hamas. As an organization, Hadassah spoke out against Hamas’ weaponizing of sexual violence, launching their largest global campaign to demand action, accountability, and justice. From the first reports coming out of Israel, there was concern for large-scale sexual violence, especially since Hamas terrorists filmed and shared live videos on social media. Despite the physical evidence and eyewitness testimonies, Hamas leaders denied the claims.
Human rights and feminist groups were slow to respond or remained silent. Even groups that are supposed to empower women were hesitant to believe Israeli women. The United Nations did not make a statement for eight weeks. Celebrities — who ten years ago held #BringBackOurGirls signs for abducted Nigerian schoolgirls — had nothing to say about the young Israeli women kidnapped and held hostage for months. The trending memes, hashtags, and satires became the #metoo_UNless_UR_a_Jew and #BelieveIsraeliWomen social media campaigns.
Attorney Cochav Elkayam-levy, a leading Israeli feminist legal advocate, was devastated by the denial and established a comprehensive, legal framework to ensure the evidence collected adheres to rigorous global standards. “The silence by the most important international human rights bodies felt like a betrayal not only of us but of humanity. This led me to understand that I must document everything to fight against denial and to ensure accountability for the perpetrators.”
As the international community continued the denial of sexual violence, Hadassah introduced the #EndtheSilence global campaign before International Women’s Day on March 8. Supporters organized 190 events in 17 countries and online, including the Louisville Chapter. Using the Purim stained glass window in The Temple lobby as a background to honor Hadassah (the Hebrew name for Queen Esther), members held signs declaring “Rape is Not Resistance” and recorded a chant of “End the silence on sexual violence” to post online in unison across the globe.
Since education is critical to combating this denial, the Louisville Chapter organized a program to elevate the significance of Hamas’ crimes. Healing and action for community members were essential. The #EndtheSilence, Hear Our Voice Community workshop on April 28 at the JCC was facilitated by Dr. Susan Rhema, LCSW, Ph.D, from the University of Louisville. This program allowed discussion in a trauma-informed manner, with outcomes including information and compassion.
The session began with a discussion of the juxtaposition of the current events of October 7, with the long history of sexual violence against Jewish women. Beginning with the rape of Dinah in Genesis, we then learned of several historical examples of how armies use rape as an instrument of war. As stated by Irina Astashkevitch in her book, Gendered Violence: Jewish Women in the Pogroms of 1917 to 1921, mass rape as a public spectacle is the perfect weapon because it asserts the power of the perpetrators, publicly destroys the dignity of the women and victimizes the entire community. “The Jews were destined to become witnesses to their own disgrace.” This trauma has a lasting psychological impact as well. Hadassah Hospital Mt. Scopus’s Molecular Psychiatry Lab is doing research on irregular hormone and immune biomarkers that result from severe trauma. This intergenerational trauma cannot be understated. It is literally in our DNA.
Dr. Rhema introduced the concept of genocidal rape as a form of extreme gender-based violence that is a war tactic to deconstruct and eliminate a racial or religious group. There is a difference between rape during war, when individuals find an opportunity to do harm, and rape as an operational strategy of war when commanders order their men to rape in a systematic and planned fashion. When rape is intentionally used in conflict, it meets the definition of torture; however, the International Criminal Court did not give the legal definition that gender rape is a war crime until fifty years after the Geneva Convention. Although denying what happened to Jewish women in Israel is a very specific betrayal, it is sadly a universal issue that globally women do not receive justice for war crimes committed against them.
Our discussion tackled the difficult concept of rape as part of the human condition; that love and compassion are universal, but so is barbarism. We wondered what is in the mind that causes humans to behave this way, where we have our protective society of insiders versus the “other” that is an outsider and allows war and conflict. Through this conversation about trauma and its physiologic response, we considered the quote from Peter Levine, that “trauma is a paradox that has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.” When we heal ourselves, we heal the world because we do not perpetuate the trauma, instead, we create connection and purpose. When we elevate the voices of those who cannot speak for themselves, we can bring healing.
We must continue to speak out and fight denial. Dr. Dvora Bauman, Director of the Bat Ami Center for Victims of Sexual Abuse at the Hadassah Medical Organization, insists that society has to stand up and say rape is not a part of war. War is horrible and many people die, but gang rapes and sexual violence should never be operational strategies of war. Rape does not depend on the context.
My healing started with connecting to the victims of the assault. I recalled the power of the protests in Louisville during the summer of 2020, when “Say Her Name” kept Breonna Taylor from being an anonymous victim. When Eli exclaims “I am them, they are me, Mr. Tzuref. Aach! You are us, we are you!” — all I could think of were my Israel sisters and how historically, genetically, figuratively, and literally our shared DNA instantly connects us. “I am them, they are me.” Our Torah gives us the ultimate powerful prayer, the Shema, whose words command us to “Hear O Israel”, to listen to our voices say their names, to speak for those who cannot, and to “End the Silence on sexual violence.”
Michelle Elisburg is a pediatrician and president of the Louisville Chapter of Hadassah.
