UN Women Embraces Hamas Terrorism

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

Is UN Women Embracing Hamas Terrorism?

October 16, 2023 – This past Friday UN Women issued a “Statement on the Situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory” (1). Use of the word “occupied” in the title reveals the document’s anti-Israeli tilt. Worse, the statement makes no mention of Hamas’ unprovoked attack on youth attending a music festival, the killings of innocent men, the beheading of babies, or the mass rapes of Israeli women.

UN Women’s one-sided document concludes, “UN Women has been supporting Palestinian women since 1997 to achieve their social, economic, and political rights. We remain present on the ground to provide support and assistance and will do so for as long as it takes.” Nothing about the rights of Israeli women.

UN Women is not the only feminist voice seeking to white-wash the Hamas atrocities:

Leading feminist Lucy Small proclaimed her satisfaction that “Palestinians in Gaza made history as they escaped the world’s largest prison.” (2)
Feminist Emilia Vieira joined a pro-Hamas rally in New York City, where she joined the crowd in chanting, “Free, free, Palestine!” (3)

In response, Monica Osborne, editor of the Jewish Journal, wrote an article in Newsweek highlighting the barbaric acts against Israeli women, and criticizing the silence of feminist organizations in condemning the Hamas terrorists. Osborne deplored the fact that among the largest and most visible international women’s organizations, “Not one has spoken out against what appear to be the mass rapes committed by Hamas fighters.” (4)

The hostility of feminists to their Israeli sisters should not come as a surprise. For years, feminists have been leaders in a Marxist-inspired global campaign working to “de-colonize” the world (5). In recent years, the decolonization movement has become a dominant voice at the United Nations, focusing much of its wrath on Israel (6).

Two months ago, the UN Economic and Social Council approved a resolution condemning Israel for allegedly violating women’s rights. Despite the resolution’s references to the need to eliminate violence against women in “all regions of the world,” Israel was the only country singled out for criticism (7).

The resolution also ignored domestic violence against men, which research shows is just as widespread as partner aggression against women (8). The neglect of male victimization is yet another example of ingrained bias at the United Nations.

UN Women is hardly a neutral party on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The head of UN Women, Sima Bahous, previously served as Assistant Secretary General at the Arab League, which orchestrated a crippling boycott of Israel. Bahous was later appointed as Jordan’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations (9).

UN ambassadors and lawmakers around the world need to demand that UN Women immediately remove its biased and factually deficient “Statement on the Situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Telephone: +1 646-781-4400. Email: janine.kandel@unwomen.org

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 110 member organizations from 34 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/

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