Michal Herzog, wife of President Herzog, addresses absence of women at hostage negotiation table

Michal Herzog, the wife of President Isaac Herzog, spoke yesterday at the Herzliya Conference at Reichman University, addressing the stalled hostage negotiation and the lack of female representation at the negotiating table.

"I'll say something that really bothers me - ultimately, whether the negotiation [succeed, or] does not [succeed,] at least its initial stages are intended to bring those young women who [are still held hostage by Hamas,]" said Michal Herzog.

"But I don't see around the decision-making table, or even negotiation tables, not even one woman, not even one mother," she added. "I may not be well-versed in negotiations or strategies, but it doesn't seem logical to me. It simply doesn't seem logical that the female voice, the perspective, the perhaps slightly different thinking of women won't be taken into account. I would very much like to see our voice as women also around decision-making tables. I think it's very important."

As The Media Line Staff reported on February Michal Herzog emphasized the significance of a report by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. The report detailed widespread and systematic rapes and sexual assaults committed by Hamas terrorists during their attack on Israel on October 7.

Speaking to UCLA students and faculty visiting Israel, Herzog expressed frustration at the global silence from human and women's rights organizations regarding these atrocities.

Michal Herzog calls for global action

The report indicated that the attacks included brutal sexual assaults aimed at maximizing pain and humiliation, often involving armed threats and occurring in front of the victims' families. Many of the assaulted women were subsequently killed. The report highlighted that both female and male hostages still held by Hamas are at high risk of sexual abuse.

Herzog hopes that the documented evidence will raise global awareness and prompt action. The report condemned the lack of international response, especially in the context of the MeToo movement, and called for a moral obligation to address and amplify the victims' plight.