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UN, Campus Women’s Groups Silent on, Deny Hamas Rapes of Israelis in Oct. 7 Onslaught
Bartender and survivor of the Nova Festival, May Hayat, takes cover as rocket sirens sound, during her first visit to the scene of the attack, on the one-month anniversary of the attack by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7, near Re’im, Israel, Nov. 6, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Women’s groups and sexual assault centers both within the United Nations and on university campuses have been noticeably silent on or in denial of well documented cases of Hamas terrorists raping Israeli girls and women during their brutal onslaught across southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The most recent outrage occurred on Friday, when the director of the sexual assault center at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada triggered an outcry for signing onto an open letter denying that Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas raped women during their Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
Samantha Pearson signed the letter, titled “Stand with Palestine: Call on Political Leaders to End Their Complicity in Genocide,” which attacked center-left New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh for repeating “the unverified accusation that Palestinians were guilty of sexual violence,” among other criticisms.
Edmonton – the University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre signs onto an open letter that denies that Israeli women were subjected to rape and sexual violence on October 7th. Sarah Jama is the first signatory. The message is clear – believe all women, except Jewish women. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/7pSZTYzpvh
— Documenting Antisemitism (@AntisemitismCA) November 17, 2023
The letter was penned by Susan Kim, a city councilor in Victoria, and Sarah Jama, a member of Ontario’s provincial parliament. Jama who was kicked out of the NDP over remarks just three days after the Oct. 7 massacre ignoring the Hamas atrocities while calling Israel an “apartheid” state.
Copious and publicly verified documentation — including videos, eyewitness accounts, press reports, and investigations by Israeli authorities and women’s rights groups — have found numerous cases of rape and other sexual atrocities against women carried out by the Hamas-led terrorists during their rampage. During the assault, the terrorists murdered more than 1,200 people and took over 240 others as hostages.
Hamas terrorists also admitted to acts of rape during taped interrogations by Israeli security forces following their capture.
On Saturday, the University of Alberta indicated in a statement posted to X/Twitter that that it had fired Pearson.
“The recent improper and unauthorized use of the name of the [university]’s Sexual Assault Center in endorsing an open letter has raised understandable concerns from members of our community and the public,” the statement read. “Effective immediately, the director of the center is no longer employed by the university.”
“I want to be clear that the former employee’s personal views and opinions do not in any way represent those of the University of Alberta,” wrote university president Bill Flanagan. “The University of Alberta stands firmly and unequivocally against discrimination and hatred on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, and other protected categories. We recognize the historical and ongoing harms of antisemitism and commit to doing all we can as a university to advance a world free of prejudice and discrimination.”
Meanwhile, the most important women’s organizations within the UN have seemingly ignored the sexual violence against women and girls in Israel.
UN Women, whose mandate is to champion the rights of women regardless of race or ethnicity, has been noticeably silent. On its website, the only reference to Israel since the Oct. 7 massacre addresses the “devastating impact of the crisis in Gaza on women and girls.” The organization also discusses a two-day trip to Egypt by its executive director, Sima Bahous, where she called for “immediate and unhindered humanitarian access” to Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas.
“We’ve sent letters and shared graphic documentation,” Sarah Weiss Maudi, a senior diplomat and legal adviser in Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital. “Their silence is so deafening that it’s sickening.”
A UN Women spokesperson told Fox that the organization “unequivocally condemns all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as any use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, which is a grave violation of human rights. It is never acceptable. International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law must be respected and upheld at all times.”
The organization added that an independent commission of inquiry had already started “collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides since 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a complex attack on Israel and Israeli forces responded with airstrikes in Gaza.”
The UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), meanwhile, has ambiguously mentioned “the gendered dimensions of conflict” without detailing the brutality suffered by women in Israel at the hands of Hamas.
The post UN, Campus Women’s Groups Silent on, Deny Hamas Rapes of Israelis in Oct. 7 Onslaught first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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