Silence filled the streets of Skokie on Sunday afternoon as dozens of people in the Jewish community and allies quietly marched in protest.
“This is a march to bring attention to the silence of women’s organizations and others," one marcher said.
The walk was organized to bring awareness to what organizers said is a lack of condemnation for acts of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the terrorist group's attack on Israel in early October.
Israeli authorities recently said they have evidence and testimony of rape and sex crimes from witnesses and first responders during Hamas' attack on Oct. 7. However, it wasn't until nearly two months later that the United Nations Women, the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, spoke out against the sexual violence.
In a Dec. 1 social media post, the UN Women said, “We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October... We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks… we continue to call for accountability for all acts of gender based violence committed."
But for those at the Skokie protest, that condemnation came too late.
“I feel it’s a disgrace that in 2023 we have to defend rape as being wrong," another marcher said. "I have family in Israel, what has happened there, the raping of men women children is a disgrace.”
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Many held signs with the hashtag #metoounlessurajew, taking aim at the Me Too Movement they said failed to stand up for Jewish women. The Me Too Movement posted about the attacks in mid-November.
"We stand unequivocally with ALL survivors of sexual violence in this moment, including Israeli women who have given horrific accounts of gender-based violence in the last month," the statement read, in part... "We are clear that the acts of gender-based violence that we are seeing across the globe in places like Israel, Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and Tigray are why we continue to raise our voices for survivor justice."
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The full statement can be found here.
