“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.”
–Elie Wiesel
Tomorrow morning, March 8, local Jewish feminists and other human rights activists will gather in front of Baltimore City Hall to offer a simple and unadulterated message to victims of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks: “We believe you.“
In honor of “International Women’s Day,” a rally will be held at 8 a.m. sharp in front of City Hall, at 100 Holliday Street, organized by a new grassroots group called Baltimore Area Jewish Feminists.
The rally is being conducted in conjunction with Hadassah International, the historic B’nai Israel Synagogue in East Baltimore, Pikesville’s Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation, the Baltimore Zionist District and other groups. Participants are asked to bring posters.
Beth Vander Stoep, a B’nai Israel congregant and one of the leaders of Baltimore Area Jewish Feminists, said the rally was conceived when “we realized there was a very serious problem — no one was speaking out about this issue, and we felt isolated as Jews and as Zionists.”
A Baltimore resident originally from Washington state, Vander Stoep said the early time of the rally is intentional.
“We’re doing it at 8 in the morning because people have jobs, and also because [the Oct. 7 attack] happened early in the morning,” she said. “So we should be inconvenienced early in the morning and say to City Hall employees and our local officials, ‘This happened.‘ Local officials should say that all victims of sexual violence should be believed and validated, regardless of their ethnic group or creed. … We’re hoping for a good turnout.”
Earlier this week, a United Nations report validated Israeli reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and afterward, including instances of rape.
The 24-page report, based on a 17-day investigation conducted in January and February, supports the claim by Israel and its supporters since Oct. 7 — that rape and sexual assault were part and parcel of the atrocities committed by Hamas that day, and suffered later by hostages taken by the terrorist group to Gaza.
In a statement, the organizers of the City Hall rally wrote, “On October 7th, our lives as American Jews dramatically changed. When Hamas terrorists attacked and killed over a thousand people they also committed systematic sexual violence, and published evidence in real-time on their official Telegram channel. The victims of these attacks are not simply people that live thousands of miles away. As American Jews, so many of the victims were our friends, our family members, our coworkers, and people we loved. …
“To further our agony, despite the extensive documentation authenticated by [the New York Times] and others, so many organizations that claimed to believe all women turned their backs on us that day. UN Women took over two months to make a statement condemning this atrocity. As Jewish women and allies, we are sick of being presumed liars until proven otherwise, we are sick of gaslighting and denialism in the face of concrete evidence, and we are sick of the hypocrisy of so many people we thought we could trust.”
The organizers said the goal of the gathering is to “call upon our elected officials as well as the general public to stand up and say, ‘We believe you,’ to the victims of sexual violence on Oct. 7th. We must #EndTheSilence that has perpetuated around the premeditated sexual violence that occurred on 10.7. Weaponizing sexual violence is never acceptable.”
For information about the rally, contact Beth Vander Stoep at vanderstoep.beth@gmail.com.
Side Note: This Sunday morning, Mar. 10, Baltimoreans will once again walk to show their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas terrorists. The walk will take place from 9 to 10 a.m. and departs from the the front lawn of Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation, 7310 Park Heights Avenue.
This Sunday marks 156 days that the hostages have been held in captivity. The walk — being held for the ninth consecutive week — is held in conjunction with International Women’s day, with a special focus on the 13 women held in captivity.
The walk, which will continue every Sunday until all hostages are released, is part of a global campaign by communities who walk each week in support of the hostages. More information is available at run4lives.org.
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