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Celebrities React to Hamas Sexual Violence: ‘Medieval Barbarism Unlike Anything in Modern History’
Debra Messing during the Will & Grace 25th Anniversary Celebration at The Paley Center for Media in New York NY on June 5, 2023. Photo: Usphotography/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Warning: This story contains graphic details about sexual violence, including rape and torture, carried out during Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre.
An event that took place at the United Nations this week about the sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists during their deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7 has caught the attention of Jewish celebrities, who blasted those staying silent about the abuse that unfolded two months ago.
Actress and former Will & Grace star Debra Messing attended the UN event — titled “Hear Our Voices: Sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7th Hamas terror attack” — and said in a post on Instagram that the testimonies she heard about rape, mutilation, and other forms of sexual violence resembled accounts of “medieval barbarism unlike anything seen in modern history.”
“First responders attesting to the rape and subsequent mutilation of women and young girls. Survivors detailing women begging to be killed during their rape and torture. Forensic experts detailing the deliberate targeting of sex organs, shooting, mutilating, nails, and other means of torture including cutting off of breasts while the girls were being raped and still alive. There were gasps, and tears,” she wrote. “Powerful speeches demanding recognition and pursuit of justice by the UN Women, who have remained silent.”
United Nations Women — the UN agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment — released on Nov. 25 its first statement about the gender-based violence carried out on Oct. 7 — 50 days after they took place. A week later, on Dec. 1, the agency condemned for the first time ever the Hamas terrorist attacks. There have been calls to have UN Women disbanded for waiting so long to comment on the sexual violence, and on Sunday, Israeli actress Gal Gadot slammed the international community for staying quiet about the sexual abuse women experienced at the hands of Hamas.
Messing also shared on Instagram a clip of Iranian activist and content creator Mandana Dayani at the UN event discussing the Oct. 7 massacre by the Hamas terror group, whose main sponsor is Iran. She expressed disappointment in the “peers, friends, universities, and fellow leaders who still remain silent” about the sexual violence that women experienced. “You have made the deliberate choice to look the other way,” she said. “You saw the videos, the phones, many recorded and live-streamed by the terrorists themselves. You know exactly what happened to these girls and yet you turned away … When our women’s mouths were bound and gagged, you chose not to be their voice.”
Actress and writer Jenny Mollen Biggs, who is the wife of American Pie star Jason Biggs, also shared on Instagram a clip of Dayani’s speech at the UN event, calling it “just f—king brilliant.” Two days earlier, she shared on social media a testimony from a survivor of the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival who witnessed the beating and raping of a fellow music festival attendee. Frustrated by the silence shown by feminists about such violence, Biggs wrote in the caption for the post, “Our daughters are being raped and shot in Israel, our daughters are being raped and shot in Sudan, our feminists are busy shopping for the holidays.”
In her own Instagram post, actress Mayim Bialik drew attention to a female-led demonstration that took place outside the UN event, where protesters demanded to know why the organization has remained silent about the sexual abuse inflicted on Israeli women. Demonstrators also used the hashtag “#MetooUNlessYouareaJew” to draw attention to their cause.
The former Big Bang Theory star shared a photo from the demonstration and wrote in the caption, “Note to the world: believe all women — even if they are Jews. Also, believe the autopsies showing grotesque sexual mutilation.”
“Finally, to the ‘anti-Israel’ protesters who literally marched at the UN as we ask for dignity for the women of the Oct. 7 massacre which used women’s bodies as war prizes: what exactly were you marching against in this particular case?” she added.
The post Celebrities React to Hamas Sexual Violence: ‘Medieval Barbarism Unlike Anything in Modern History’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
The post ‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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