The outcry of an Israeli woman, a peace activist

The letter below is from a friend, a peace activist who for many years headed MASHAV, the Israeli development agency, and was involved many UN agencies in the international arena dealing with human rights and specifically human rights. She feels betrayed and ignored by former "friends".

This is an abridged version and i can send the full letter on request.

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For more than 25 years, I was a true militant of peace, creating dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women, believing strongly in peace-education and in building bridges between communities! What a terrible wake-up I had!!! How could I be so naïve? Peace???   With whom??? With Hamas ??? -  A terrorist group that doesn’t value the lives of its own brothers, maintaining them as refugees for more than 75 years for political purposes; taking the billions of dollars provided by the EU, US and other generous donors, to buy weapons and to build underground tunnels, instead of investing in education, health and economy, and using civilians as human shields, and then accusing Israel of the killing of innocent people in Gaza.  

For the information then of those who prefer to ignore the truth: Israel is apparently the only country in the world to have liberated territories, gained during a defensive war, for the purposes of achieving peace.   And what has it received in return?  Years of more and more terrorist attacks against innocent civilians!...

Wake up, dear world!  Can’t you see the reality? How dare you judge us when you ignore true facts and rely on lies and false information? Why don’t you take the time to check the information you get before sharing fake news, and before rushing to join demonstrations against Israel, adding your voice to all those antisemites who were just waiting for the “right” moment to express their hate against the Jews and against Israel, with slogans such as “Free Palestine from the river to the sea”.

I furthermore wonder how the UN which is responsible for the “Child Rights Manifesto”, signed by most of its Member countries in 1989, does not take a minimal initiative with the International Red Cross organization to protect the rights of dozens of children who were so taken as hostages; and who are being held in despicable conditions? How can the UN not act for their immediate release?  And where is the Red Cross??

The world must realize the magnitude of the tragedy we are facing, and must understand that this war is a matter of good vs evil, civilization vs. barbarism…  For us, the Jews, this is a second Holocaust, and it must be recognized as such.  

Where are my own rights, and the rights of my children and grandchildren, to live a normal life?  I realize though and with much sadness that I am asking a stupid question!!  Who really cares??

This is a question of moral compass, and choosing not to unequivocally condemn the inhumane crimes committed by Hamas on that tragic day of 7 October is not OK.

Today, I have decided to stop trying to explain to some of my colleagues from women’s organizations, regionally and internationally, from the human rights’ associations around the globe, and from colleagues from UN WOMEN and UN specialized agencies with whom I have cooperated for decades, contributing to the empowerment and well-being of women in the developing world, that silence on their part cannot be an option.  I had expected them to stand-up in full solidarity with the women in Israel.  I had expected them to take a very clear stance against terror… I had expected them to call for the immediate release of the hostages…  I know, all of them consider rape in a war zone as a crime, but that seemingly is only as long as the victims are not Jews!

I had expected the UNWOMEN to comprehend the enormity of the tragedy, to recognize the fact that what happened on the 7 of October was a mass feminicide, since women were violently raped, tortured, humiliated before being savagely murdered.

UNWOMEN your silence regarding the war crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli women is UNFORGIVABLE!  Your organization will go down in the history books sitting idly by…

Furthermore, I just heard that the UN has appointed Iran’s Ambassador to chair the Human Rights Council!  To laugh or to cry??

 We have no choice but to defend ourselves from a murderous terror organization, and its allies, that seek the annihilation of the Jewish people and the destruction of Israel.   Nobody can convincingly deny that this is their final objective.   So, what do you expect us to do?  To let them exterminate us? However, we will win! We will win because we have no other alternative if we want to survive as a nation.   As Golda Meir once said, “we will win because we have no other place to go”.

We need to make sure that the civilized world will prevail in the war against evil and terror.  For our struggle is also the struggle of democratic and civilized societies.

Yesterday, I heard with horror and immense pain that my friend and colleague, Vivian Silver, was declared dead after her remains were found at her home in Kibbutz Be’eri, among the tortured innocent victims of October 7 massacre.  Vivian, a lifelong feminist, a fearless leader who has devoted her entire life to the cause of peace and to Arab-Jewish partnership, who was one of the founders of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace!  

Another friend and colleague of mine who had been kidnapped from her house by Hamas, together with her grandchildren, is Dr. Shoshan Haran, a woman who, through her humanitarian organization “Fair Planet” has dedicated her career to the wellbeing of the poorest of the poor in Africa, ensuring food security and helping local women farmers to overcome their hardships. Shoshan’s husband, her brother and sister-in law, have been found murdered in kibbutz Be’eri.

My soul and my heart are broken…

However, despite my hard “wake-up” from many years of naivety and blindness, during which I did not want to believe that there exists an incredible hypocrisy, a lack of integrity and a double standard when the issue involved is about Israel and the Jews, I refuse to lose my humanity - even in the grip of the trauma caused by the Hamas horrendous carnage…  And so, I will continue my own battle for women’s rights and social justice, whenever and wherever it is necessary.  This engagement is due to the support and sympathy I personally received during this dark period from true friends, whom I salute for their courage and humanity. Their solidarity is particularly appreciated in this time of adversity, where the global waves of antisemitism that we are watching play out on social media can make Jews feel alone.