Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D) has penned an op-ed, addressing the sexual violence that the Hamas hostages have experienced. The op-ed comes at a time when some members of the Democratic Party have called for a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel. Pushing back against antisemites in the op-ed, Rep. Wasserman Schultz calls on detractors to believe the Hamas hostages.
In the op-ed, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz argues that "for Jews, the violent reports of the massacre echoed so many of the stories we had all grown up hearing from our grandmothers and grandfathers − stories about Jews being forced from their homes, separated from their families and killed for their faith. But then, as is happening now, when we look around for allies, we often find ourselves standing alone."
She noted that progress has been made in listening to women and their experiences with abuse, and the sexual assault experienced at the hands of Hamas should be part of that progress. However, she is disappointed because, despite the stories that have been shared regarding "Hamas' use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war on and since Oct. 7 - including a recent and long overdue report from the United Nations finding evidence of sexual abuse at the Nova music festival, Road 232 and Kibbutz Re’im − survivors have been ignored and belittled."
Moreover, the Florida Democrat pushed back against antisemites who are attempting to "commandeer our conversation, place our trauma in “proper context" or decide which stories are worth telling and believing."
Instead, she posits that "silence is complicity" and that everyone should be speaking out against the crimes that Hamas has committed. Rep. Wasserman-Schultz lamented that, while there is a consensus in opposing what Hamas has conducted, there are still people who "refuse to recognize the humanity of Hamas’ victims."
