On this deeply significant occasion of International Women’s Day, my heart swells with a profound sense of responsibility, particularly towards the resilient women of Israel who have endured so much.
Let me share with you the haunting words of Shmuel Ziegelbaum, a Polish Jewish politician, whose anguished plea resonates through the corridors of time. With tears streaming down his face and despair clutching at his heart, he cried out against the deafening silence of the world as millions of innocent lives were snuffed out during the Holocaust. His words cut through the darkness, a piercing reminder of the moral duty we all bear to stand against injustice, no matter how daunting the challenge.
He said the following: "The responsibility for the crime of murder of the entire Jewish nation in Poland lies first of all with those who commit it. But indirectly, it also falls on the whole of humanity, on the peoples of the allied countries and their governments, which until today have not taken any real steps to stop this crime. By passively watching this murder of millions of defenseless children, women and men, they have become complicit."
Shmuel wrote these words only a day before he decided to end his life after the shock by the indifference of the public in June 1942.
The State of Israel chose life after the Holocaust, which was an unprecedented genocide. Israel rose from the ashes of unimaginable horror, a beacon of hope in a world stained by darkness. Yet, behind the facade of resilience lies a deep well of pain and suffering endured by Israeli and Jewish women.
Since October 7, they have faced the unimaginable—violence, brutality, murder, rape, mutilation, and unspeakable acts of cruelty inflicted upon them simply because of who they are. Israelis. Jewish.
They have witnessed the brutal slaughter of their loved ones, the burning of innocent babies, and the butchering of their parents. Some have been fortunate enough to escape with their lives, only to face further brutality, including beatings, rape, and the harrowing ordeal of being taken captive by monstrous forces into the depths of hellish tunnels.
As a proud Jewish woman and Minister for Social Equality & the Status of Women of Israel, my heart aches as I question the world: Is antisemitism more powerful than feminism? Why must Israeli women continue to bear the burden of injustice alone? The silence surrounding their suffering is a betrayal of our shared humanity, a failure to uphold the principles of equality and justice that we so often preach for.
Why must Jewish women stand here, pleading their case to the world? Would any of you have dared to demand proof of rape or sexual assault from any other woman?! I highly doubt it.
Would any of you react with indifference, dismissal, or apathy to the sight of your wives, daughters, mothers, disgraced and violated before everyone's eyes?
Your passiveness inaction is appalling and unbelievable, yet your proactive efforts to deny the sexual violence inflicted upon Israeli and Jewish women over the past five months, while turning a blind eye to the suffering of our hostages, constitute a grave offense. By doing so, you legitimize rape! You legitimize sexual assault! You legitimize keeping our hostages in hell! The recent statements by perverted UNRWA officials, glorifying the killing and abduction of Israeli women by referring to them as "horses", are especially infuriating and cannot - and should not be ignored.
Bear in mind, the blood, shed by our daughters - holds no distinction from that of your own daughters.
None of us, even the most hypocritical ones, can ignore these atrocities. I call on the world, the UN, human rights organizations, and women's advocates to: endthisshame.
History will judge those who remain silent.
Therefore, on this day, I say: NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!
AM ISRAEL CHAI!