Early last Friday morning, Mar. 8, Jewish feminists and other human rights activists assembled in front of Baltimore City Hall to show their solidarity with victims of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
In honor of “International Women’s Day,” the rally was organized by a new grassroots group called Baltimore Area Jewish Feminists, in conjunction with Hadassah International, B’nai Israel Synagogue in East Baltimore, Pikesville’s Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation, the Baltimore Zionist District and other groups.
Among the speakers were Jay Bernstein, chair of the Israel Committee at Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue, and Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, spiritual leader of Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom.
(Photo by Robyn Stevens Brody)
Beth Vander Stoep, a B’nai Israel congregant and one of the leaders of Baltimore Area Jewish Feminists, said the rally was” a powerful moment to see local Jewish feminists stand up and publicly say , ‘This happened.’ We read our murdered sisters’ names and demanded recognition of their humanity. For a moment we shifted the narrative from numbers devoid of faces to real human beings. As Baltimore Area Jewish Feminists we are trying to shift our feelings of despair into hope. Friday’s action was an important first step in that process.”
(Photo by Robyn Stevens Brody)
In a statement, rally organizers wrote, “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. … We must #EndTheSilence that has perpetuated around the premeditated sexual violence that occurred on 10.7. Weaponizing sexual violence is never acceptable.”
(Photo by Robyn Stevens Brody)
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