US Vice President Kamala Harris joined the screening of the film “Screams Before Silence”. The initiative took place at the White House last Monday, to raise awareness of Hamas’ denial of sexual violence, as exposed in the documentary produced by Sheryl Sandberg. “We cannot look away and we will not remain silent about what happened,” Harris said before the screening to a room full of representatives from women’s and human rights groups. “My heart breaks for all these survivors and their families and for all the pain and suffering of the last eight months in Israel and Gaza.”
Sandberg, former chief operating officer of social media giant Meta, produced the film to counter denialism of the sexual violence that took place on October 7, when Hamas terrorists massacred more than 1,200 people in Israel, sexually abusing the kidnapped hostages . “Some people, even very well-known faces, are ignoring or worse denying that this happened,” Sandberg told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after the screening. “I therefore believe that it is necessary to tell this aspect so that it can reach people’s hearts so that they know what really happened.”
Sandberg’s public condemnation of rape as an act of war in November and subsequent documentary represent some of the most powerful efforts in a broad campaign to call attention to the use of sexual violence on October 7 and thereafter, which is, a for all intents and purposes, a war crime. Jewish advocates had for months pressed the United Nations to recognize and condemn Hamas’s use of sexual violence before the body did so in March. Several international women’s organizations have struggled to acknowledge the sexual violence of October 7, said Sheila Katz, the CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women who attended the screening. “Sheryl has now given us a platform to show interviews and testimonies about what happened,” Katz said in an interview. Amit Soussana, a former hostage and survivor of Hamas sexual violence, was also present at the event. In the documentary, it is largely about her testimony. “Being in captivity means you have no control over your mind, body or soul,” she said. “You have absolutely no perspective on what happens to you. All your basic human rights are taken away from you. Even your feelings are completely controlled by someone else.” Soussana revealed after her release that one of her Hamas captors had attacked her. “The sexual assault I experienced should never happen to any human being under any circumstances. No one should ever be sexually violated and there are no justifying circumstances for these crimes,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a victim, I’m a strong, independent woman, and no one can change that, it will always be part of my story, but in time the trauma will pass.”
Harris and Sandberg have both called for an end to the war and the immediate release of the hostages, of whom around 80 are currently thought to be still alive. “President Biden and I have made it clear that Hamas must accept the deal that is on the table for a ceasefire that would bring the hostages home and put a permanent end to hostilities,” Kamala Harris said.
For Latest Updates Follow us on Google News
