Judy Weissenberg Cohen: Does ‘MeToo, unless you’re a Jew,’ hold true?

Valid question:

…Then Oct. 7, 2023, happened. Hamas, a listed terrorist entity in Canada since 2002, launched a surprise armed attack on Israel. They massacred more than 1,200 innocent civilians, they kidnapped children, and they raped women. Victims hiding for their lives witnessed the stunningly savage atrocities committed against women and children. The survivors shared their eyewitness accounts. The butchery was meticulously catalogued by the soldiers and first responders — and by the terrorists themselves, who proudly shared footage of their murderous assaults.

Although intentionally documented, the sexual violence has since been denied by Hamas. Many human rights groups — even those with feminist leanings — were either slow to respond, made false equivalencies, or remained silent. It was only after weeks of pressure that Mélanie Joly, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, finally condemned Hamas, in early December. Human rights organizations whose focus is on the protection of women also remained silent for months. It took the UN eight weeks to put out a statement. And yet, when a report with unsubstantiated accusations of sexual violence levied against Israel was published, Joly and many others commented within hours.

Were they silent about Israeli (Jewish) women because the UN’s women’s groups have aligned themselves with Hamas, whom they view as representing the oppressed? And, if they are the oppressed, they can’t possibly have committed rape?

Does the popular hashtag #MeTooUnlessUrAJew hold true?

Is the rape of women during wartime as inevitable as antisemitism?

While I am grateful for how far Holocaust studies have come in recognizing both the unique vulnerability and resilience of women, it is difficult to see silence about the weaponization of gender-based sexual violence continue. Once women suffered this in silence; we must not, 79 years after the end of the Holocaust, allow Jewish women, or any person, to ever do so again.

I am 95, and I am tired, but this is not the time to be idle. On International Women’s Day, we need to listen to women, to hear their voices, and to speak for those who have been silenced. Regardless of our politics, in this we must all be fearless.

Special to National Post

Hungarian-born Judy Weissenberg Cohen survived the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration and Death Camp and Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. She was liberated in 1945 following a four-week-long death march. Judy immigrated to Canada in 1948 and worked in the garment industry in Montreal, moving to Toronto in 1961. She is an activist in anti-racism and Holocaust education, with a focus in women’s experiences.

Source: Judy Weissenberg Cohen: Does ‘MeToo, unless you’re a Jew,’ hold true?