Women's Rights Leaders Condemn the Atrocities of October 7th
Statement by Women's Rights Leaders on Rape Atrocities During the October 7th Attacks
As women’s rights activists and leaders, we stand for the right of every woman and girl, of every nationality, religion, and community, to live free of all forms of violence, including rape and sexual assault.
In the weeks since October 7th, overwhelming evidence has emerged that widespread, horrific acts of rape and sexual violence were systematically perpetrated by Hamas attackers against Israeli women and girls during the October 7th assault. The evidence includes forensic examinations of Israeli victims’ bodies bearing signs of rape and torture; eyewitness testimony by survivors of the Oct. 7th attacks who saw women being raped and mutilated; the testimony of first responders who found the bodies of Israeli women and girls in their bedrooms amid unmistakable and virtually unspeakable evidence of having been raped; video footage filmed by Hamas attackers and recovered from their devices, which recorded evidence of sexual assault, and which has been viewed and attested to by American journalists and elected officials; videos which have been made public showing a young Israeli woman with bloodied pants, being dragged by her hair in and out of a vehicle by Hamas abductors, and another young woman stripped to her underwear with Hamas abductors on top of her; and testimony being compiled by an independent, nongovernmental commission investigating war crimes perpetrated against women and children by Hamas on October 7th.
The undersigned have marched, organized, and spoken out for women of every race, religion, identity, and nationality. Our hearts break for all victims of gender-based atrocities, and our hearts break for these specific victims, the Israeli women and girls raped and sexually tortured on and after October 7th. Despite our different backgrounds and perspectives, we stand united in these principles:
We denounce the use of rape as a weapon of war, which is a crime against humanity.
We call for a thorough, skillful, and unbiased investigation by international human rights investigators of acts of rape and sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israeli women and girls on and after October 7th; we call for perpetrators of war crimes to be held accountable by all relevant authorities including the International Criminal Court.
We demand the immediate, unconditional release of all remaining hostages so that they can receive desperately needed treatment for trauma and other serious medical conditions; we affirm that continuing to hold these kidnapped hostages captive is an ongoing violation of international law; and we say to these hostages and their loved ones: you are not alone.
We grieve as we witness the heartbreaking anguish of women, children, and all those who suffer through no fault of their own in both Israel and Gaza. We mourn the deaths of so many Palestinian and Israeli civilians who have been killed in this war. We long for a just peace. To denounce rape as a weapon of war is not to express approval or alignment with the governing coalition in Israel, nor does it signal support for the bombings in Gaza. But as feminists we are committed to the universal principle that rape must always be condemned; we bear witness to the mountain of evidence that Hamas and other terrorist groups used rape as a weapon of war against Israeli women and girls; and we demand accountability for crimes that must never be tolerated by the world community. Most of all, we stand with the victims of gender-based atrocities, with the survivors and with those who did not survive, and we raise our voices in solidarity with them.
Signed by
Gloria Steinem, Writer, Feminist, and Activist
Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State
Letitia James, Attorney General, New York State
Hon. Carolyn Maloney, President, National Organization for Women-NY
Mariska Hargitay, Founder, Joyful Heart Foundation
Sheila Katz, CEO, National Council of Jewish Women
Hon. Judy Harris Kluger, Executive Director, Sanctuary for Families
Andrea Salwen Kopel, Executive Director, National Council of Jewish Women New York
Catharine A. MacKinnon, Professor of Law
Ana Oliviera, President and CEO, New York Women’s Foundation
Letty Pogrebin, Founding Co-Editor, Ms. Magazine
Jayne Bigelsen, Chief Policy Officer, Women’s Justice NOW
Rachel Foster, Founding Co-Chair, World Without Exploitation
Lauren Hersh, National Director, World Without Exploitation
Jane Manning, Director, Women’s Equal Justice
Alexi Meyers, Co-Chair, New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition
Sonia Ossorio, Executive Director, National Organization for Women-NYC
Rebecca Zipkin, Policy Director, World Without Exploitation
Lori Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, PACT
Meredith Jacobs, CEO, Jewish Women International
Ane Mathieson, Project Director, EMPOWER Center
Christine Pelosi, Co-Founder, We Said Enough
Judi Polson, Chair, National Organization for Women-NYS
Anne K. Ream, Founder, The Voices and Faces Project
Maria Trusa, Founder, Yo Digo No Mas
Shannon Watts, Founder Emeritus, Moms Demand Action
Katie Couric
Sheryl Sandberg
Rabbi Sharon Brous, Founder and Chief Rabbi, Ikar Temple
Phyllis Chesler, Emerita Professor of Psychology and Feminist Author
Mandana Dayani, Human Rights Activist
Michele Landis Dauber, Professor of Law
Diane Von Furstenberg
Ashley Judd
Noa Tishby, Author and Activist
Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, California
Amy Paulin, New York State Assemblymember
Liz Krueger, New York State Senator
Mimi Rocah, Westchester District Attorney
Joyce Vance, Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama
Congressman Ritchie Torres
Congresswoman Grace Meng
Andrea Stewart Cousins, New York State Senate Majority Leader
Carl Heastie, New York State Assembly Speaker
Mayim Bialik
Helen Hunt
Michelle Hurd
Jill Kargman
Téa Leoni
Debra Messing
Seth Meyers
Alysia Reiner
Paul Rudd
Amy Schumer
Jessica Seinfeld
New York State Senators
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Senator Jabari Brisport
Senator LeRoy Comrie
Seatorn Nathalia Fernandez
Senator Kristen Gonzalez
Senator Joseph Griffo
Senator Pete Harckham
Senator Michelle Hinchey
Senator Brad Hoylman Sigal
Senator Liz Krueger
Senator Andrew Lanza
Senator John Liu
Senator John Mannion
Senator Rachel May
Senator Shelley Mayer
Senator Zellnor Myrie
Senator Gustavo Rivera
Senator Sean Ryan
Senator Julia Salazar
Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton
Senator James Skoufis
Senator Toby Stavisky
Senator Kevin Thomas
Senator Lea Webb
Retired Senator Alessandra Biaggi
New York State Assembly Members
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay
Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato
Assemblymember Jeff Aubry
Assemblymember Didi Barrett
Assemblymember Michael Benedetto
Assemblymember Sam Berger
Assemblymember Jacob Blumencranz
Assemblymember Alex Bores
Assemblymember Ed Braunstein
Assemblymember Harry Bronson
Assemblymember Chris Burdick
Assemblymember Kenny Burgos
Assemblymember Marianne Buttenschon
Assemblymember Robert Carroll
Assemblymember Willaim Colton
Assemblymember Brian Cunningham
Assemblymember Brian Curran
Assemblymember Taylor Darling
Assemblymember Joseph P. DeStefano
Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz
Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein
Assemblymember Harvey Epstein
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher
Assemblymember Jodi Giglio
Assemblymember Joseph M. Giglio
Assemblymember Deborah Glick
Assemblymember Jessica Gonzales - Rojas
Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi
Assemblymember Joshua T. Jensen
Assemblymember Billy Jones
Assemblymember Charles Lavine
Assemblymember Grace Lee
Assemblymember Dana Levenberg
Assemblymember William Magnarelli
Assemblymember John McDonald
Assemblymember David G. McDonough
Assemblymember Karen McMahon
Assemblymember Brian Miller
Assemblymember Angelo J. Morinello
Assemblymember Steve Otis
Assemblymember Amy Paulin
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas
Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal
Assemblymember Nily Rozic
Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara
Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright
Assemblymember Amanda Septimo
Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky
Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon
Assemblymember Tony Simone
Assemblymember Douglas M. Smith
Assemblymember Phil Steck
Assemblymember Al Stirpe
Assemblymember Al Taylor
Assemblymember Fred Thiele
Assemblymember Monica Wallace
Assemblymember Carrie Woerner
Assemblymember Ken Zebrowski
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas
Assemblymember Sandra Galef
Assemblymember Mary Beth Walsh
Retired Assemblymember Tom Abinanti
Retired Assemblymember Sandy Galef
District Attorneys
Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney
Darcel Clark, Bronx District Attorney
Eric Gonzalez, Kings County District Attorney
Melinda Katz, Queens District Attorney
Michael McMahon, Staten Island District Attorney
Mimi Rocah, Westchester District Attorney
New York City Councilmembers
Councilmember Shaun Abreu
Councilmember Erik Bottcher
Councilmember Gale Brewer
Councilmember Eric Dinowitz
Councilmember Oswald Feliz
Councilmember Kamillah Hanks
Councilmember Julie Menin
Councilmember Keith Powers
Councilmember Lynn Schulman
Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez
Retired Councilmember Helen Rosenthal
Elected Officials
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli
George Latimer, Westchester County Executive
Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Mayor-Elect New Rochelle
Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President
Vanessa Gibson, Bronx Borough President
Retired Congressmember Nita Lowey
Vedat Gashi, Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators
Margaret Cunzio, Westchester County Legislator
Tyrae Woodson Samuels, Westchester County Legislator
Justin Brasch, White Plains City Council President
Ellen Hendrickx, Greenburgh Town Councilwoman
Suzanne Berger, Westchester County Leader
Brad Lander, City Comptroller
Christine Hunschofsky, Florida State Representative
Leaders
Rabbi Elka Abrahamson, President, Wexler Foundation
Marilyn S. Adler, Managing Partner, Mizzen Capital
Jason Alexander, Actor and Director
Gaby Allan, Writer and Producer
Holly G. Atkinson, Physician
Dina Bakst, Co-Founder and Co-President, A Better Balance
Dee Beaubien, Board Member, Personal PAC
Miriam Ben-Yoseph, Professor Emerita, DePaul University
Amanda Berman, Executive Director, Zioness
Jeff Berman, CEO, WaitWhat
Mijal Bitton, Spiritual Leader, Downtown Minyan
Carole Boron, Personal PAC
Sarah Bremner, Producer
Rachel Bronson, President and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Shifra Bronznick
Meredith Burns, CEO, Fort View Productions
Sarah Haacke Byrd, CEO, Women Moving Millions
Katie Cappiello, Playwright
Lea Carpenter, Writer
Josh Charles, Actor
Sharon Chitrit
Aiyoung Choi, Chair Emerita, Korean American Family Service Center
Abie Cohen
Leandra Medine Cohen, Author
Tom Colicchio, Chef and Activist
Lisa Collins, Actor
Victoria Cook, Founder, Torah Trumps Hate
Camille Cooper, CEO, Augusta Associates
Stephanie Cornell
Elizabeth Corsini, Public Health and Equity Strategist
Jennifer Crittenden, Writer and Producer
Tara Rudes Dann, CEO and Founder, L’AGENCE
Chloe Jo Davis, Editor and Writer, GirlieGirlArmy
Soraya M. Deen, Founder and President, Muslim Women Speakers
Marcia Dickstein Sudolsky, President, Tri-State Maxed Out Women
Eileen Dordek, Board Member, Personal PAC
Tina Duryea, Artist
David Einhorn
Paula Eiselt, Filmmaker and Reproductive Rights Advocate
Jennifer Cody Epstein, Novelist
Michael Epstein, Filmmaker and Podcaster
Rhonda Epstein
Kathryn Erbe, Actor
John Erickson, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles
Asaf Eyal
Stephanie Ferdman
Nancy Fisher, Board Member, Museum of Jewish Heritage
Sophie Flack, Writer
Sheri Flanders, Writer
Eric Fleiss, Co-Founder, Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance
Josh Foster, Restauranteur
Mimi Frankel, Member, Commissioner's Board, Women's Refugee Commission
Mara Freedman
Amanda Foreman
Aura Friedman
Frida Furman, Professor Emerita, DePaul University
Amanda Gamer
Kathryn Garcia, Director, State Operations for the State of New York
Spencer Garrett, Actor
Sue Gelsey, Chief Engagement Officer, Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
Liz Whitmer Gereghty, Community Leader
Corinne Goldman
Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, Illinois State Representative
Dana Gordon, Founder, Politics with Dana and Steve
Dr. Marsha Gordon
Sally Gottesman
Rob Greenberg, Producer, Writer, and Director
Linda Greenhouse
Mindy Feldman Hecht
Joshua Henne, President & Founder & White Horse Strategies
Hagit Hamus
Marisa Harary
Mary Haviland, Advocate & Author on Gender-Based Violence
Mindy Feldman Hecht, Board President, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Dana Haddad, Education Consultant
Alissa Hendel
April Hennig
Aline Hilford
Penny Hirsch, Board Member, Women Initiating New Directions
Michael Hirshchorn, President, Ish Entertainment
Lisa Hofflich, Senior Vice President, Actum
Susan Hoffman Hyman, Screenwriter, CEO of StoryBreak
Ilyse Hogue, Senior Fellow, New America
CarLa Horton, Executive Director, Hope’s Door
Annie Hausmann, Council President, Borough of Norwood New Jersey
Sara Hurwitz
Jacob Hyman
Jon Hyman, Teacher
Joshua Hyman, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, New York Presbyterian/Columbia University
Stephanie Jacobs, Founder, Advocates for Change
Oren Jacobson, Co-Founder, Men4Choice
Sheila Jaffe, President, National Organization for Women, Palm Beach County Florida
Patty Jenkins
Michelle Jubelirer, Chair and CEO, Capitol Music
Deborah Karton, Trustee, Jewish Women's Foundation
Dr. Dara Kass
Debbie Katz, Program Director, Kids In Crisis
Deborah Katz, Former Sex Crimes Prosecutor and Investigator
Julie Kay, Author and Human Rights Attorney
Rachel Klein, Director Hillel of Westchester
Sarah Koch, Network Producer
Alain Kodsi, Entrepreneur
Faith Kogan
Blair Kohan
Nancy Kohn, Trustee, Jewish Women's Foundation
Sally Koslow, Novelist
Tatiana Kotlyarenko
Jill Lafer, Former Board Chair, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Jill LaZare, President, National Organization for Women-NJ
Lauren Leader, CEO, All In Together
Rebecca Leicht, Director of Admissions, Beit Rabban Day School
Martha Levy
Paulette Light
Marci Liroff
Dahlia H. Lithwick, Journalist and Author
Jonathan Littman, CEO Littman Media
Marcie Love, Founder and Chair Emerita, Personal PAC
Ellen Grob Levy, Board Member, Tri-State Maxed Out Women
Joshua Malina, Actor
Janel Maloney, Actor
Claudia Mammerman, Partner, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton
Camryn Manheim, Actor
Jennifer Mann
Mary Manning McCullough
Susan McPherson
Deborah Marcus, Executive, The CAA Foundation
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Historian, The New School
Joan Meier, Professor of Clinical Law, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Yael Melemede, Filmmaker, SALTY Features
Haina Just Michael, Co-President, Hillels of Westchester
Stacey Sherr Michelon, Board Member, Planned Parenthood of Illinois
Eileen Minnefor, Attorney and Writer
Jenny Mollen
Lisa Molnar, Research Associate Professor, University of Michigan
Tiffany Erwin Moller, Lecturer, Columbia Law School
Rachel Moran, Irish Author and Women’s Rights Campaigner
Victoria Moran
Denise Namer
Beverly Cooper Neufeld
Stacey Neumann
Galt Niederhoffer, Writer and Producer
Grace Newton, Former Board Chair, Personal PAC
James Odell
Michael Osgood, Former Commanding Officer, NYPD Special Victims Division
Kelley Perkins, Executive Director, Actions@EBMF
Abigail Pogrebin
Yotam Polizer, CEO, IsraAID
Danielle Pollack, Policy Manager, National Family Violence Law Center
Katha Pollitt, Poet, Essayist, and Critic
Elizabeth Posner, Chair of Board, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action
Daphne Lazar Price, Executive Director, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Monica Raymund, Actor
Stephanie Reddick, Artist
Rachel Riley, TV presenter
Samantha Ronson
Erin Rose, Founder and CEO, Every Two Minutes
Sandra Rose
Jodi Rosen, Board Member, Planned Parenthood of Illinois
Nancy Rotering, Mayor, Highland Park, Illinois
Rachel Rothenberg-Saenz
Jennifer Rubin
Julie Rudd
Mercdes Ruehl, Actor
Kathleen Russell, Founding Executive, The Center for Judicial Excellence
Wendy Sachs, Film Director, Writer, and Producer
Dr. Masua Sagiv
Rabbi Joanna Samuels
Kathleen Sances, President, G-PAC
Danielle Schoenberg, Membership Manager, Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs
Emily Schrader, journalist and human rights activist
Erin Schrode
Clarence Schwab, Treasurer, Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance
Ellen H. Schwartz, Film Producer
Karen Schwartz, Writer
Lorraine Schwartz
Steven L. Schwartz, Former Sex Crimes Prosecutor
Tamara Sepper
Lynne Sered, Trustee, Jewish Women's Foundation
Libby Shani
Shari Shapiro, Executive Director Kids In Crisis
Maayan Sherris
Karen Kehela Sherwood, Producer
Ben Sherwood
Reshma Shetty, Actor
Debra Shigley
Alexandra Shiva, Film Director
Emily Schrader, journalist and human rights activist
Suzy Shuster, CEO, Magnetic Media Group
Lori Silverbush, Filmmaker and Activist
Deshi Singh, Founder and CEO, Apricot
Kate Sloan
Lindsay Sloane
Halie Soifer, CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America
Sara Spinnell
Anna Stein
Emily Tisch Sussman, Founder and Host, She Pivots
Jennifer Taub, Professor, Western New England University
Hope Taitz
Abigail Tambor
Jennifer Taub
Shelley Taub
Virginia Terry, Director of Strategic Communications, Girl Rising
Daena Title, Artist
Karol Todrys, Board Member, National Center for Jewish Women - New York
Wendi Trilling, Producer and President, TrillTV
Naomi Tucker, Founding Executive Director, Shalom Bayit
Berni Vann, Agent, CAA
Hollis Wei, Executive Director, JACPAC
Laura Welch, President, Illinois NOW
Joyce White Vance, Professor, University of Alabama Law School
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
Liz Whitmer Gereghty, Community Leader
Kate Wiczyk
Modi Wiczyk, Co-Chairman, MRC
Katy Williamson
Jill Wine-Banks
Maya Wolf
Marti Speranza Wong, Founder and Executive Director, Amplify Her Foundation
Noah Wyle, Actor
Sara Wyle, Actor
Allison Yarroe, Author
Julie Zebrak
Rachel Zoe, CEO and Founder, Rachel Zoe, Inc.
Barbara Zdravecky, CEO, Planned Parenthood of SWCFI