Breaking the Silence: Women’s League Advocates for Justice Amidst United Nations Indifference

By Florence G. Wolpoff, WLCJ United Nations Non-Governmental Orgnization (NGO) Representative

From Julia Loeb, WLCJ International President — In light of Women’s League’s statement against Hamas’ violence toward Israeli women that we issued last week, I asked Florence Wolpoff to share her reports of her experience at the UN sessions on the war in Israel and the sexual violence against Israeli women. Note: Some of the testimony that Florence includes in her report here is graphic.

As one of Women’s League’s NGO representatives to the United Nations, I have been privileged to attend meetings of the Security Council, the General Assembly, and special sessions. When I have been unable to attend in person, I have been glued to my computer watching very painful presentations by various member countries. For the most part, the speeches have been condemnations of Israel. For too many of them, October 7th never happened, and Hamas is blameless.

As was stated by renowned sociologist and former United States Senator from the State of New York, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” But it appears that in contemporary society, we have been exposed at the UN to examples of competing “facts,” half-truths and outright lies.

On November 20th, 2023, the Israeli Mission to the United Nations provided an update on the situation in Israel. Ambassador Gilad Erdan opened the meeting saying, “This event is taking place so we can comprehend the evil of this war situation.” He asked the following questions, “How come the UN has not condemned Hamas?” He then asked the audience, “What would you do if you were in Israel’s situation?” And added, “We will not fail, we must win because of humanity.”

Attendees were then asked to hand in their cell phones as we sat for 47 minutes watching the footage taken by Hamas invaders as they killed, raped, mutilated Israelis. While several people felt the need to leave the room, I sat in horror. While the Nazis hid most of what they were doing and many in the world did not want to believe the magnitude of what was happening, here Hamas was bragging. The Hamas charter calls for the total destruction of Israel and all things Jewish. However, yet again, the world seems to be blind to the very horror many have witnessed via Hamas tapes and Israeli eyewitness accounts.

On December 4th, 2023, the Israeli mission at the United Nations sponsored another session, “HEAR OUR VOICES.” The session focused on the sexual assaults perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, 2023. The Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations offered the opening remarks. He said, “This was planned to clear Jews out of Israel. Hamas views Israel as vermin.” At this session, Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator from the State of New York (in person) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (via video) decried how many women’s groups, just like the UN itself, have remained absolutely silent. As a follow-up, Senator Gillibrand reaffirmed the need to give voice to the Israeli women who were raped and whose bodies were mutilated. She went on to say, “When I saw the list of women’s groups that said nothing, I nearly choked. We must demand that the actual videos be shown. If they refuse, I demand it.”

At that session, three Israelis offered eyewitness accounts – Shari Mendez, a member of the Israeli morgue staff whose job is to identify and prepare women’s bodies for burial, Yael Richert, chief superintendent with the Israeli national police. and Simcha Greinman, an emergency medical worker with Zaka. The speakers told of mutilated corpses, broken pelvic bones from repeated rapes, the inability sometimes to determine gender due to mutilation and the need to vacate rooms when live grenades were found buried in women’s private parts.

At the meeting of the Security Council on December 8th, 2023, Secretary General António Guterres put forth a resolution calling for an Israeli Hamas ceasefire for humanitarian causes. The United States invoked its veto power. The US did not support the resolution because the UN refused to condemn Hamas or call for the release of all hostages. The US knows that Hamas does not want a two-state solution.

On December 12, 2023, the General Assembly met again to present Secretary General António Guterres’ resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. The vote was 153 nations in favor of the resolution, ten voting “No,” with 23 abstentions. A vote in the General Assembly is nonbinding.

As members of Women’s League, can we remain silent? In addition to speaking on behalf of women’s rights, we must be the voice of those who can no longer be heard. We must also become teachers of the uneducated, telling them why Israel exists and why Israel cannot endure a one-sided ceasefire.  As members of Women’s League, we cannot remain silent.

Florence G. Wolpoff 
WLCJ United Nations Non-Governmental Organization Representative
florence.wolpoff@verizon.net

Read → WLCJ Statement on Hamas’ Violence against Israeli Women