do feminists stay silent?

Criticism of feminists has increased in recent weeks. They are accused of not condemning the rapes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 and of having “variable geometry” indignation. True or False verified their positions.

“Calling feminists: It is time to support all Israeli women who have been raped, tortured, killed and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.” This is how we can translate the call launched by the official account X of the State of Israel on November 5, almost a month to the day after the Hamas terrorist attack. “Supporting Hamas or remaining silent is siding with the evil murderers responsible for these atrocities against women.”

The accusation is heavy and it was not long before it was taken up in different countries, including France. On November 9, the rabbi Delphine Horvilleur asks himself : “Where are the feminists?” On November 22, feminist author Sarah Barukh asks questions in an article published by The Express accusing the Nous Tous collective and the Women’s Foundation of not taking a position: “Aren’t Jews victims worthy of being mourned and defended?”

Where are the feminists? https://t.co/CuIEVChb9c

— Delphine Horvilleur (@rabbidelphineH) November 9, 2023

This criticism culminated during the day of mobilization on November 25 against violence against women. “This year I remained silent and speechless in the face of the variable geometry sorority of feminists”deplored the day after the demonstration the feminist Sophie Gurion who created the Tumblr in the 2010s “Words kill” to denounce the media treatment of femicide. Have feminists really remained silent about the rapes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7? True or False verified.

Direct condemnations after the first testimonies

This question will not have a single answer. It is not possible to speak of “the silence of feminists” in general because the organizations and activists do not all have the same positioning. It should also be kept in mind that the first accounts of rape during the October 7 attack only began to emerge at the end of October. Israel published on October 24 a first video of a soldier claiming to have seen evidence that women had been raped. Other soldiers’ stories were relayed in the following days and weeks. On November 8, Israeli journalist Josh Breiner claimed that Israeli investigators had, for the first time, collected a direct testimony rapes. It is retweeted by the Hebrew State. A week later, on November 14, Israel announced that it had opened an investigation into the October 7 rapes.

Once this is recalled, what positions have feminists observed? On November 10, a few days after the revelation of this first direct testimony, the Women’s Foundation published a clear message on the social network X : “The Women’s Foundation unreservedly condemns the sexual crimes committed by Hamas, following the terrorist attacks of October 7, testimonies of which are beginning to emerge. It expresses its most total solidarity with the victims and their relatives.”

The Women’s Foundation unreservedly condemns the sexual crimes committed by Hamas, following the terrorist attacks of October 7, testimonies of which are beginning to emerge. She expresses her most total solidarity with the victims and their loved ones.

— Fondation des Femmes (@Fondationfemmes) November 10, 2023

The same day, the foundation also relays the work of the French NGO We are not Weapons of War (“We are not weapons of war”, in French), chaired by lawyer Céline Bardet, who is in the process of recording Hamas rapes in order to be able to document them so that they can be taken into account. Anne-Cécile Mailfert, the president of the Women’s Foundation, will once again denounce the Hamas rapes in a column on France Inter on November 24 in which she explains why she will demonstrate the next day.

On November 22, environmentalist MP Sandrine Rousseau, a figure of feminism, also published a clear message on the social network X : “Hamas has been guilty of (among other things) mass femicide and particularly cruel rapes.”

The Nous Tous collective clarifies its position and denounces “a smear campaign”

Some convictions are more indirect, do not use the words “rape” or “sexual crimes”. THE October 14UN Women says “deeply alarmed by the devastating impact [de l’attaque] on civilians, including women and girls”. THE November 25for the international day against violence against women, UN Women says it is “still alarmed by reports of gender-based violence on October 7 and calls for a rigorous investigation”. The position of the international institution is particularly criticized. According to Israel, a gathering took place in front of the UN Women offices in Jerusalem on November 27 to demand clear condemnation.

The Nous Tous collective took the floor on October 26 on the social network Instagram to call for a ceasefire. “We provide our support to all civilians, victims of war, everywhere in the world. We think of Palestinian and Israeli civilians”, writes the collective before listing civilians from other countries in conflict, such as Ukraine. In this press release, We All also denounces rape as a war crime in general and has a thought for the women of Gaza, but does not clearly or directly mention the fate of Israeli women.

Criticism of the alleged “silence” of feminists intensified around November 25, Nous Tous and other collectives which organized the French mobilization day including La Relève feministe, the National Council for Women’s Rights, the CGT , Solidaires and FSU published a new press release on the evening of November 27, denouncing a “smear campaign”. “We unambiguously condemn the sexual and gender-based crimes, rapes and feminicides committed by Hamas, which particularly targeted women, LGBTQIA+ people and children”says the press release.

The organizers of the march took the opportunity to explain that Jewish organizations and individuals participated in the demonstration, while the Crif denounces the prevention of a procession of Jewish women denouncing precisely the silence of feminists on the rapes perpetrated by Hamas. According to Nous Tous, this procession was supervised by the police because it included far-right people.

Happening of the far right at the Parisian march of November 25

The far-right who also held a happening during the demonstration, via the feminist collective Nemesis. Activists infiltrated the demonstration, pretended to be what they called “neo-feminists” and held up signs with deliberately provocative slogans, particularly towards white people: “If you’re white, you’re problematic.”, “Down with white reproduction” or “Down with the cops, the whites and the fascists”.

“Down with white reproduction!” »
“Down with the cops, the whites and the fascists”

Do these slogans shock you?
U.S. too.
However, we were able to deploy them at the Nous Tous demonstration without any problems.

➡️ Our action aims to denounce the abuses of… pic.twitter.com/nM6eyohjWz

— Alice Cordier (@CordierAlice2) November 25, 2023

By this gesture, they wanted to prove that it was possible to brandish such slogans without hindrance in the We All march and therefore denounce what Némésis considers to be “drifts” of the feminist movement. Some Internet users relay the photo of the Némésis activists without any context, suggesting that these are real demands.