Melbourne vigil demands more solidarity with Israeli women

Organisers of a vigil in Melbourne on Monday evening say prominent female advocacy groups have failed to show adequate solidarity with Israeli women attacked in Hamas’ October 7 invasion.

The vigil in Elsternwick, in Melbourne’s south-east, attracted hundreds of attendees and featured a speech by Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian academic who was held in an Iranian prison for 804 days.

About 500 people gathered for the vigil in Elsternwick on Monday evening.Credit: Simon Schluter

The women from Melbourne’s Jewish community who organised the event said groups such as the United Nations, Australia’s #MeToo movement, feminists and progressive politicians had “chosen to ignore, contextualise or significantly delay any public response to the sexual crimes of October 7”.

“The scepticism and gaslighting of Israeli women and children who were violently raped and tortured contravenes the very tenets of these activists and organisations – namely, to support and believe all victims,” organisers wrote in a statement.

The UN has commenced an inquiry into war crimes on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict. It announced last week that the scope would expand to investigate “numerous accounts” of sexual violence by Hamas that have not yet been able to be officially verified.

Israel says the militant group killed 1200 people and took 240 hostages on October 7 before about 105 hostages – many of them women and children - were released during a seven-day ceasefire that ended last week.

Heavy fighting has since resumed in Gaza, where more than 13,000 Palestinians have died, according to Hamas-run authorities.

On a warm Monday evening at Hopetoun Gardens in Elsternwick, white shirts with the messages “No Excuse” and “We Believe Them” were distributed to approximately 500 attendees. They taped their mouths shut to represent the perceived silence they were protesting and held placards with messages such as “#MeToo Unless you’re a Jew”.

Moore-Gilbert said she wanted to acknowledge two simultaneous situations: the deaths of innocent women and children in Gaza as well as “horrific, unspeakable” sexual violence against Israelis.

“It is excruciatingly painful to watch some Western feminists and international organisations tie themselves in knots attempting to minimise, quantify or, even worse, justify” sexual violence on October 7, she said.

Attendees at the vigil at Hopetoun Gardens in Elsternwick hold an Israeli flag.Credit: Simon Schluter

Moore-Gilbert, who was imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges until November 2020, said she had “no doubt” her former captors were involved in the events of October 7

In an example cited by organisers, United Nations Women wrote on social media on December 2 that it was “alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks”.

Organisers said the post failed to explicitly reference Israeli women.

“It’s too little, too late. And it’s not enough,” the organisers said.

Federal Liberal senator Sarah Henderson also spoke at the vigil, saying Australians needed to know about and condemn “the rape, the brutality, the kidnapping, the torture and the murder”.

Henderson received a loud cheer as she appeared to denounce recent pro-Palestine school student protests across the country.

“Students should be in school, not protesting on the streets. Not being used as political pawns,” she said.

State Liberal MPs David Southwick and Georgie Crozier also attended, while federal Labor MP Josh Burns had a statement read in his absence.

Georgina Williams, the chair of UN Women Australia, was announced as being in attendance but did not speak.

Pro-Palestine protests have been organised for the last eight Sundays in Melbourne’s CBD, attracting thousands of marchers.

On Monday, six police officers patrolled the event, but there was no repeat of the fighting between protesters that occurred in nearby Caulfield a month ago. Those angry clashes resulted in police using pepper spray to separate two opposing groups.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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