Roundtable on Hamas use of sexual violence held on Capitol Hill

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz hosted a roundtable discussion on Wednesday to raise awareness about the sexual and gender-based violence Hamas perpetrated on Oct. 7 along with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah E. Lipstadt.

Wasserman-Shultz was nearly in tears as she began the program. Earlier Wednesday, Wasserman-Shultz said she met with Israeli law enforcement to hear about the ongoing investigation into Hamas and its use of sexual violence. 

"I have never seen more sadistic evil perpetrated against another human than in the photos and videos that we saw earlier this morning," Wasserman-Shultz said. 

Wasserman-Shultz said the evidence of sexual violence is "abundant and beyond compelling."

Through survivors coming forward, witnesses, video footage and independent analysis, we know that Hamas' use of sexual violence including rape, mutilation and brutality was not an anomaly, according to Wasserman-Shultz.

"It was a premediated part of their strategy to purposefully use sexual violence as a weapon against innocent civillians," she said. 

Skepticism about Israeli survivors 'unacceptable'

Wasserman-Shultz said when Israelis bravely came forward to share the horrors they experienced or witnessed, there was silence or categorical dismissal of their stories. They were questioned, accused of being part of a PR campaign, doxxed, and threatened on social media, Wasserman-Shultz said. 

“It’s unacceptable that skepticism still follows survivors, and unconscionable that hate and bias are driving people to ‘believe only some women.’ We cannot equivocate. We cannot let this revolting ideology create a permission structure for premeditated and intentional rape, “ Wasserman Schultz said. “And we cannot give an inch to those who would overlook sexual violence specifically against Jews, because they are the heirs to the darkest moments in our history. Today we helped lift that silence and confronted the hate that feeds it.”

Emhoff said there can not be silence when Jewish women experience sexual violence; Jewish women must be believed and their stories must be elevated. The hate, barbarism, and terrorism must be acknowledged, he said. 

"The discrediting of accounts is simply a failure of justice. Sexual violence, mutilation, torture, butchering is not an inevitably byproduct of war," Emhoff said. 

While it may be difficult to bear witness to these atrocities, Herzog said we must not allow Hamas’ violence against women to go unnoticed. 

"When so many have been unwilling to believe Israeli women, the evidence shows their hypocrisy," Herzog said. 

The roundtable discussion Wednesday came as Congress is expected to vote on a resolution "Condemning rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas in its war against Israel."

According to the resolution, the House condemns all rape and forms of sexual violence as weapons of war, including those acts committed by Hamas terrorists on and since Oct. 7. 

The resolution also calls on all nations to criminalize rape and sexual assault and hold accountable all perpetrators of sexual violence, including state and non-state armed groups. 

The resolution reaffirms the US government’s support for independent, impartial investigations of rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas on and since Oct. 7 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting survivors of rape and sexual violence, including those brutalized on and since Oct. 7.

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) introduced the bill which has 200 cosponsors.